Overall Finishing Activity Accelerated Contraction in June, Closing at 44.0
Finishing activity accelerated contraction for the second month in a row, down 2.5 points from May. Two months does not a trend make, but it does suggest that some degree of softening is real. Because contraction is common across industry segments reinforces that likelihood.
The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Finishing activity has taken a turn in line with other industry segments, contracting faster like we last experienced about a year ago.
Most contracting components contracted faster in June, employment being the exception that remained the same.
Production and backlog contracted faster for the first time in months, each dropping more than two points.
New orders contracted faster for the second month in a row, also by more than two points.
Exports continued a slowly accelerated decline.
Supplier deliveries continued to lengthen at about the same rate as May, for some non-obvious reason since volume is not stretching supply.
Expectations of future business (not part of the GBI calculation) are still positive, having leveled off in May and staying the same in June.
The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Finishing
Finishing activity contracted at an accelerated rate in June.
Key Component Activity
Production and backlog accelerated contraction, driving contraction in the overall Finishing index.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Loading
Next Up
Why am I seeing this?
Dear Products Finishing Audience Member:
Starting on Thursday August 8, 2024, PF will begin “gating” its premium content, asking all new website users to provide some information about themselves — name, title, employer, email address — before they are provided free access to the content.
We are doing this because the ways PF’s audience finds and accesses our content is changing. Google’s search algorithms, increasingly, make it difficult to connect PF’s content with the people who might make use of it. On top of that, generative AI like ChatGPT is serving up PF content to internet users without attributing that content to PF.
As a result, it has become increasingly important for PF evolve its audience development strategy and learn as much as possible about who is accessing our content, what content they are accessing and how they are accessing it.
With this audience development strategy, we hope to do two things:
First, we will be better able to deliver directly to our audience the editorial content that aligns with the surface finishing materials, processes and technologies that interest them.
Second, we will be better able to connect the materials, equipment and services our advertisers supply with the audience that is most interested in them.
PF plays a distinctive role and has earned a place of esteem within the focused and specialized industry it serves. Large developments in the media landscape are forcing us to change the way we communicate with our audience. We are confident that our audience values the role PF plays in their professional lives and will join us in this effort to stay connected to them.
We thank you for your continued interest in and support of PF and welcome any questions you might have about the brand’s new content gating strategy.
