Contraction slows for second month, with some indicators improving
In September new orders and employment were up slightly, future business outlook improved and material prices dropped.
The Composites Fabricating GBI has improved within last 3 months but is still below the yearly high of 49.6 seen in April of this year. Source (All Images) | Gardner Intelligence
The Gardner Business Index (GBI) is an indicator of the current state of composites fabricating considering 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 composites fabrication market is still contracting overall but at a slower pace than the previous month, rising nearly one point since August. New orders, employment, exports and future business all improved, while prices received dropped, as did supplier delivery. Overall, the Composites Fabricating index has improved the last 3 months but is still below the yearly high of 49.6 seen in April of this year.
Supplier deliveries, exports and backlog all increased slightly this month relative to a year ago, while supplier deliveries and production slowed slightly. Employment numbers rose more than a point, contracting more slowly than August.
The GBI Components Scorecard reports the monthly change rate of primary composites 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.
September’s future business.
The GBI Future Business Index is an indicator of the future state of the composites fabrication 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 for September remained positive and improved more than a point from last month.
Find the latest composites fabrication market research and reporting at GardnerIntelligence.com
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