This Industrial Equipment Distributor Is a Bellwether for Industrial Stocks... And It's Not Looking Great

Industrial supply companies always give great color on the state of the U.S. manufacturing sector, so investors have reason for caution after MSC Industrial's (NYSE: MSM) latest third-quarter earnings report. Let's take a look at the details and why they suggest many industrial companies could be giving weak outlooks in the forthcoming earnings season. On a headline basis, MSC's results looked pretty good.