The Pandemic Recovery is On

After a difficult 2020, there is reason for optimism about the performance of the distribution market in 2021. Not only is this the gut feeling held by nearly every distributor MDM spoke with in recent weeks, but also economic benchmark data are pointing in the direction of a continued recovery. According to the latest quarterly MDM-Baird Industrial Distribution Survey, the market has shown improvement each quarter since its dramatic COVID-19-induced dip in 2Q 2020. Down 10% year over year in the spring of 2020, it ended 4Q 2020 down just 1.5% below forecast. In fact, the best performing…