PACIFIC

2005 SALES FORECAST +6.7% PACIFIC

When talking about the economic climate on the West Coast, you can't make any sweeping generalizations. Every metropolitan area is emerging from the recession at its own pace, and some parts of Southern California never saw much of a downturn at all. That wasn't the case in the San Francisco Bay area, which was decimated when the Internet bubble burst. With 41 percent of all Silicon Valley jobs in high-tech businesses, this market has been slow to mend. It's a different story in Seattle, which took a beating when Boeing cut back several years ago. Today, the pent-up demand for commercial space is about to explode, said a report in the Seattle Times. The Seattle Department of Planning and Development says commercial-construction-permit applications point toward nearly $1.4 billion in construction in the city this year, a 129 percent increase over 2003. There are also wild swings in housing activity in this region.

ELECTRICAL WHOLESALERS' SALES
(in millions of dollars)EW Estimates Final Final Final Final Forecast Forecast 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Pacific 14,131.5 14,208.8 14,288.8 15,430.3 16,604.4 17,714.6 Alaska 132.1 132.8 133.5 144.2 155.2 165.5 California 11,974.2 12,039.8 12,107.5 13,074.8 14,069.6 15,010.4 Hawaii 163.9 164.8 165.7 178.9 192.6 205.4 Oregon 861.1 865.9 870.7 940.3 1,011.8 1,079.5 Washington 1,000.2 1,005.6 1,011.3 1,092.1 1,175.2 1,253.8 EMPLOYMENT STATISTICSActualin thousands EC M C G Pacific 132,701 2,053 11,028.2 3,208.3 Alaska 2,206 17.9 158.6 77.5 Anchorage MSA 1,388 1.9 83.1 27.9 California 99,856 1,550.2 8,163.9 2,275.0 Bakersfield MSA 1,617 12.9 102.2 50.1 Fresno MSA 1,598 31.6 162.0 74.2 Los Angeles-Long Beach PMSA 20,472 481.9 2,212.3 560.3 Modesto MSA 1,428 28.6 83.1 24.2 Oakland PMSA 9,033 97.0 561.0 169.2 Orange County 10,378 180.7 873.3 142.4 Riverside-San Bernardino PMSA 11,102 114.8 575.6 202.5 Sacramento PMSA 7,023 38.8 406.8 181.2 Salinas-Seaside-Monterey MSA 589 7.3 74.4 29.8 San Diego MSA 8,677 104.8 750.3 208.4 San Francisco PMSA 5,056 46.3 617.6 121.4 San Jose PMSA 7,472 172.5 460.4 87.3 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc MSA 921 14.5 98.0 34.4 Santa Rosa-Petaluma PMSA 935 24.6 103.0 25.3 Stockton MSA 1,577 20.7 100.5 37.7 Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa PMSA 1,464 19.9 100.3 34.2 Ventura PMSA 1,269 37.3 162.6 39.4 Hawaii 2,765 15.3 361.5 115.0 Honolulu MSA 1,974 11.9 258.5 91.0 Oregon 9,348 204.7 880.1 248.5 Eugene-Springfield MSA 736 19.4 78.8 22.7 Medford MSA 512 7.5 47.7 9.8 Portland PMSA 6,149 121.7 518.8 117.6 Salem PMSA 648 15.3 71.3 36.1 Washington 18,526 264.6 1,464.1 492.3 Seattle PMSA 8,216 144.9 746.5 191.0 Spokane MSA 1,958 17.0 119.9 30.1 Tacoma PMSA 3,049 19.1 141.8 50.7

NA — Not available

MSA — Metropolitan Statistical Area

PMSA — Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area

CMSA — Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area

EC — Electrical contractor employees for April 2004. Electrical Wholesaling estimates these numbers based on Current Employment Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Patterns.

M — Manufacturing employees for August 2004. Source: Current Employment Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

C — Commercial account employees (professional and business services, retail trade, financial activities, educational and health services, leisure and hospitality, and other services) for August 2004.

Source: Current Employment Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

G — Government employees for August 2004. Source: Current Employment Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics