The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Finishing contracted in October to the same level as September.
All but one component contracted in October, representing moves in all possible directions between them.
Specifically, new orders saw a slight uptick while employment stabilized.
Production, exports, and backlog accelerated contraction ever so slightly in October.
Supplier deliveries wereagain the holdout, lengthening in October at a slightly slower rate, and ending the month knocking at the door of flat-to-shortening.
The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Finishing
Finishing activity has contracted for seven months in a row.
Key Component Activity
New orders’ uptick in the absence of production doing the same suggests new orders are an outlier in October (i.e., unlikely to slow contraction against next month.)
