March Metalworking Activity Continues January Trends
The Gardner Business Index: Metalworking saw expanding activity in new orders, production and backlog at slightly increased rates in March.
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March readings for the Gardner Business Index: Metalworking ended the month at 61.2, indicating expansion.
March 2022 Gardner Business Index: Metalworking
Images: Gardner Intelligence
Slightly Elevated Expansion in New Orders, Production and Backlogs
New orders, production and backlogs have seen slightly higher readings month-over-month so far in 2022. Readings for 2022 so far trend toward expansion, picking up speed as they show slightly faster expansion each month.
Employment showed expansion at a slightly increased rate in March with a reading of 54. Having seen higher employment activity fairly recently (the employment reading for December 2021 landed at 57), sustained expansion is not a given.
The year’s lengthened supplier deliveries stayed about the same for March relative to February, landing around 77. Export activity continued the contraction that resumed in January following a flat end of 2021, ending the month with a reading of 48.
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The Metalworking Index closed at 44.3 in June, down 1.2 points relative to May, marking a 2024 low.
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Metalworking Activity Continued to Contract Steadily in August
The degrees of accelerated contraction are relatively minor, contributing to a mostly stable index despite the number of components contracting.
