Longbow Research analyst on Tuesday trimmed his earnings forecast for Timken Corp. and Kaydon Corp. after a survey showed demand for industrial bearings slowed to the weakest levels in the past year.

Canton, Ohio-based Timken slipped more than 4 percent to $17.49 in midday trading, while Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Kaydon sank 6.1 percent to $28.29.

According to the survey conducted by Longbow Research analyst Elie Lustgarten, only 8 percent of respondents reported higher year-over-year sales during the December-January period, less than the 10 percent reported in the October-November period.

Additionally, 58 percent of distributors reported weaker demand in the latest period, compared with the 52 percent during the October-November time frame, according to the survey.

"Based on the weak conditions suggested in the current survey data, we are trimming our estimates on Kaydon and Timken, both of which are affected by the trends uncovered in our survey," Lustgarten said.

He slashed his fiscal 2009 earnings estimate of Timken, North America's largest maker of bearings, to $1.40 from $2.25 per share. He also cut engineered products maker Kaydon's fiscal 2009 earnings estimate by 25 cents to $1.85 per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Timken and Kaydon to earn $2.05 per share and $2.04 per share, respectively.

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