The North American Association of Floor Covering Distributors (NAFCD) is pleased to announce the release of the Quarterly Executive Trends Index, a robust benchmarking and forecasting tool for members.

The report, compiled by a leading research firm and in partnership with the North American Building Materials Distribution Association (NBMDA) is based on member data and provides insights into the issues and challenges facing distributors in the industry. This first report focuses heavily on historic data to provide a baseline for comparison in future reports. In addition to addressing sales trends and forecasts, this first report covers trends in material costs, gross margin, headcount and healthcare costs.

The second report will also include data from NAFCD manufacturer members and focus more heavily on distribution best practices and business management topics. Mark Herbek, partner and senior research analyst from Cleveland Research, will be a featured presenter at the 2013 NAFCD + NBMDA Annual Convention this November. Herbek will provide analysis of the Quarterly Executive Trends Index data as well as share insights into other market research for the industry. 

NAFCD's new partnership also provides access to research on trends impacting home centers, residential construction, non-residential construction, industrial distribution and other related topics. These industry updates and insights will be provided monthly to members.

"The Quarterly Executive Trends Index is an important resource that members can use to compare their company with others in the industry," said Michelle Miller, executive director of NAFCD. "This long-term partnership will allow us to build on data received from members each quarter, providing valuable trend analysis that will assist members with managing their businesses."

Learn more about NAFCD at www.nafcd.org.  

For more information, contact:                                                              

Crystal Ligda                                                                                  

(312) 673-5703 or cligda@nafcd.org