The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Finishing contracted again in September, marking six months straight of decline.
All but one component contracted in September, including a solid second month of contraction in employment.
New orders and backlog reported the deepest and fastest contraction, down 8.7 points and 5.7 points, respectively, over the past six months.
Not surprisingly, production also contracted at a faster rate in September.
Exports contracted faster again in September, but not to a dramatic degree. The steady contraction in exports over the past six months (March–Sept 2023) was previously observed in the almost parallel six-month period one year ago (Feb–Aug 2022.)
Supplier deliveries were again the hold-out, lengthening in September at about the same rate as August.
The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Finishing
Finishing’s index in September marks six months straight of contraction.
Key Component Activity
New orders and backlog each marked six months straight of accelerating contraction.
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Why am I seeing this?
Dear Products Finishing Audience Member:
Starting on Thursday August 8, 2024, PF will begin “gating” its premium content, asking all new website users to provide some information about themselves — name, title, employer, email address — before they are provided free access to the content.
We are doing this because the ways PF’s audience finds and accesses our content is changing. Google’s search algorithms, increasingly, make it difficult to connect PF’s content with the people who might make use of it. On top of that, generative AI like ChatGPT is serving up PF content to internet users without attributing that content to PF.
As a result, it has become increasingly important for PF evolve its audience development strategy and learn as much as possible about who is accessing our content, what content they are accessing and how they are accessing it.
With this audience development strategy, we hope to do two things:
First, we will be better able to deliver directly to our audience the editorial content that aligns with the surface finishing materials, processes and technologies that interest them.
Second, we will be better able to connect the materials, equipment and services our advertisers supply with the audience that is most interested in them.
PF plays a distinctive role and has earned a place of esteem within the focused and specialized industry it serves. Large developments in the media landscape are forcing us to change the way we communicate with our audience. We are confident that our audience values the role PF plays in their professional lives and will join us in this effort to stay connected to them.
We thank you for your continued interest in and support of PF and welcome any questions you might have about the brand’s new content gating strategy.
