ASA’s Monthly Sales Report: ASA Distributors Report Resilient April Sales Amid Uneven Market Conditions

By primary business emphasis the industrial PVF distributors said April sales 15.3% year-over-year (y/y). Year-to-date (YTD) sales +10.7% and trailing twelve months (TTM) sales +10.6%.

All respondents overall reported a Median April sales increased +5.7% year-over-year and +0.2% compared with March 2026. YTD sales +6.6%; TTM sales +6.2%. Inventory: +6.5% versus April 2025. Cash cycle: Median three-month average Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) dropped to 41.9 days. This is encouraging after last month's reading of this figure, reaching its highest level since early 2024.

Economic Indicators:
Recent economic data suggest the U.S. economy regained some momentum in early 2026, as real GDP expanded at a 2.0% annualized rate in the first quarter following a much softer 0.5% increase in the fourth quarter of 2025. While part of this rebound likely reflects normalization following shutdown-related disruptions late last year, the broader economic environment remains uncertain.

The labor market has remained relatively steady, with unemployment holding near 4.3%. Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have continued to pressure energy prices, transportation costs, supply chains, and broader inflation expectations. While the yield curve remains in positive territory, rising long-term Treasury yields continue to reflect concerns around persistent = inflation and elevated borrowing costs, which are weighing on housing and other investment activity.

For ASA distributors, conditions remain resilient but increasingly uneven across segments and company sizes. Industrial PVF distributors continued to report particularly strong performance in April, supported by manufacturing, infrastructure, and large project activity, while smaller distributors reported more mixed results, with more than half of the firms under $25 million in revenue reporting year-over-year sales declines for April.

Overall, ASA respondents continued to report healthy performance through April, with median year-to-date sales up 6.6% and a majority of firms reporting improved profitability.

What ASA members are saying:

“April marked a strong rebound following two consecutive months of underperformance versus both budget and prior year. Sales accelerated significantly, exceeding expectations and setting a new single-month company record. While gross profit dollars were solid, gross margin declined by a few percentage points, reflecting ongoing cost increases and sustained competitive pricing pressures. With additional vendor cost increases (both announced and anticipated), margin pressure is expected to persist in the coming months.”

“April was a solid month despite one less selling day over year. Seeing a modest improvement in HVAC and non-res business. May is off to a slower than expected start.”

“Business is robust in our area.”

“March and April results were both "record performances" for our company!!!”

“Our customers are very busy and we're pretty optimistic coming into summer.”