Composites industry continues slowing expansion trend
The composites GBI “plays it again” in May at 56.7, mostly following the trend of slowing component expansion, though employment is an exception.
Trending expansion. GBI: Composites Fabricating shifts between accelerated and slowed expansion in short periods of time. The May index was consistent with trends, indicating a second month straight of slowed expansion. Photo Credit, all images: Gardner Business Intelligence
The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Composites Fabricating closed May with a reading of 56.7 compared to the previous month’s 57.6, which essentially represents a leveling off following April’s relatively dramatic decline.
Pricing indices. Pricing is not factored into GBI indices, though pricing questions are asked in the GBI survey. The trends between material prices and prices received are the same at differing levels, which have widened over time. (This graph plots three-month moving averages.)
Most component readings in May again showed slowing rates of expansion, though to a slightly greater degree than in April. Despite this, most component readings are still not down by large amounts in the absolute. The exception is employment, which has continued its record of expanding at faster rates each month of 2022.
Included in the GBI survey — but not factored into the Index — are pricing metrics, which are mentioned here for additional perspective. Starting two years ago, the materials price index has consistently shown accelerated expansion, before peaking in July 2021 and leveling off. The prices received index has shown a similar pattern but at lower levels, with the gap relative to materials pricing widening over time. This indicates that shops are paying more for materials than they’re able to pass along in pricing.
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