Published
Finishing Activity Made a Repeat Performance in March, Closing at 46.1
The slope is softening, but finishing activity has slowed contraction for three months straight. It will take several more months at the rate it is going, but the index is headed toward 50 (flat).
Share
The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Finishing has been on a trend of slowing contraction since December 2023.
- New orders and production have been fairly synchronized in slowing contraction, for two and three months, respectively.
- Backlog has followed suit, but at a level much more contracted than new orders and production.
- Employment has been wobbly on a reporting basis, consistently contracting for over six months, with some months accelerating contraction, and other months slowing it.
- Supplier deliveries continued to ‘land’ in expansion (aka ‘lengthening,’) just above 50.
- Expectations of future business (not part of the GBI calculation) remained bullish in the expansion zone, but may be levelling off.
Key Component Activity
New orders, production, and backlog all slowed contraction in February, backlog landing at the lowest level.
