Market Indicators Continue to Soften in Metalworking

The Gardner Business Index (GBI) is an indicator of the current state of metalworking activity survey responses regarding new orders, production, backlog, employment, exports and supplier deliveries. Over 50 is expansion. Under 50 is contraction.

The September GBI shows the metalworking market is still contracting overall, but a bit slower than the previous month. Future business outlook improved slightly from last month, but all other areas contracted slightly, similarly to other industrial markets tracked.

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The Gardner Business Index (GBI) Components Scorecard reports the monthly change rate of primary metalworking market factors contributing to the overall monthly index reading.

Reading the Scorecard:

• Color indicates where a component value falls relative to 50 for the current month. Green indicates expansion; red indicates contraction.
• Shade indicates a value’s distance from 50; the darker the shade, the further from 50.
• Direction indicates a value’s change versus the previous time period. Pointing up is always better.

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The GBI Future Business Index is an indicator of the future state of the metalworking market considering industry respondents regarding their opinion of future business conditions for the next 12 months. Over 50 is expansion and under 50 is contraction.

The index remained positive showing a slight uptick from last month for the second time in the past six months.

Find the latest metalworking market research and reporting at GardnerIntelligence.com.