ITW Slides to 470th in Daily Trading Volume Amid Supply Chain Woes and Rising Short Interest

On October 7, 2025, Illinois-based industrial conglomerate Illinois Tool Works (ITW) closed down 1.14% with a trading volume of $240 million, ranking 470th in market activity for the day. The stock's decline followed mixed signals from industry-specific reports highlighting supply chain disruptions in key manufacturing hubs, which raised concerns over near-term operational efficiency for capital-intensive firms. Analysts noted that ITW's exposure to automotive and aerospace sectors—both currently experiencing production delays—may have amplified its sensitivity to broader macroeconomic headwinds.

Recent regulatory filings revealed ITW's Q3 production capacity utilization dipped 4.2 percentage points year-over-year, primarily due to port congestion in the Gulf Coast region. While the company maintains its full-year guidance, market participants interpreted the data as a cautionary signal amid tightening credit conditions. Sector peers in machinery and industrial equipment showed muted performance, with ITW's 1.14% drop outpacing the S&P Industrial Machinery Index's 0.7% decline.

Strategic positioning remains a focal point as ITW navigates its multi-year transformation plan. The firm's recent acquisition of two mid-sized automation firms has yet to show material cost synergies, with integration costs continuing to pressure short-term margins. Institutional ownership data indicates a 2.3% increase in short interest over the past month, suggesting bearish sentiment among hedge funds tracking sector volatility.

I understand you’d like to simulate a daily-rebalanced, cross-sectional strategy: • Universe: the 500 stocks with the highest trading volume each day • Action: buy them at time t, hold 1 day, sell at time t + 1 • Period: 2022-01-01 to today A couple of points need clarification before we proceed: 1. Market & listing universe – Are we looking at all U.S. common stocks (NYSE + NASDAQ) or a specific subset (e.g., only S&P 500 constituents)? 2. Volume measure – Do you want to rank by share volume or by dollar volume (volume × close price)? 3. Execution convention – Since final volume is only known after the close, do you want to: a) Buy at the same-day close (assumes perfect knowledge of that day’s volume), or b) Buy the next day at the open (more realistic, as we rank on yesterday’s data)? 4. Portfolio construction – Equal-weight each of the 500 names, or weight by something else? 5. Transaction costs – Should we factor in commissions or slippage? Once we lock these down, I’ll retrieve the required data and run the back-test.