Composites industry index ends February in growth mode
The GBI: Composites Fabricating closed February at the same level it was in November 2022, right before experiencing a rare two months of contraction.
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Moving on up. GBI: Composites Fabricating activity grew in February. Photo credit, all images: Gardner Intelligence
Composites Fabricating activity bounced back in February following two months of contraction. The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Composites Fabricating closed February at 51.6, following a reading of 48.5 in January. Production and employment components continued growing at slightly faster rates like they have for about four months straight. New orders and backlog, on the other hand, have been contracting for a similar amount of time — since September 2022, specifically — with the pace of this contraction just starting to slow in February. It is a bit puzzling that these four components are not moving together more similarly as they typically do. Supplier deliveries continued to lengthen at an ever-slowing rate, reinforcing that what may be an indication of potential upticks toward expansion for other components are just that — potential upticks — as long as the supply chain shows no signs of being stretched or stressed.
Ups and downs. Production and employment activity are opposite new orders and backlog for February, the former expanding while the latter contracts. (This graph is on a three-month moving average.)
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Composites GBI shows faster activity contraction
The total index reading backed down in May from its anticipated expansion, contracting again to land at 46.8.
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Composites industry GBI stayed the course in February
The GBI: Composites Fabricating contracted in February to the same degree as January, maintaining its position in a contraction zone.
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Composites Index shows little change in January
The GBI: Composites Fabricating closed January at around the same contractionary reading in December, with a majority of components following suit.
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