Supply Chain Research

Sears Holdings’s sale of its Craftsman tool business to Stanley Black & Decker comes as imports of tools have been growing strongly. Total imports to the U.S. have increased 7.2% in 2016 vs. 2015, with a 20.5% jump in the fourth quarter on a year earlier. Black & Decker itself has increased imports 256% in the past year, mostly the result of shipments from China. It has not been immune from a fourth quarter slowdown, however, with shipments sliding 14% on a year earlier.