Finishing Activity Ended March Down 1 Point vs. February
Finishing Activity: March saw the index revert to flat, closing at 50.3 compared to February’s 51.3.
The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Finishing returned to essentially flat in March, proving expanded activity in February to be short-lived.
- Components recorded the ‘right’ activity (3-month moving averages) in March, with expanding components expanding faster and contracting components contracting slower.
- Employment and production activity were neck-and-neck, growing, with new orders still contracting, but slower, such that it is knocking on the door of expansion.
- New orders will have to pick up the pace before backlog really expands again (last time was August 2022.) Backlog continued to contract in March, more slowly, but landing still distant from expansion.
- Export activity contracted a little more slowly again in March.
- Supplier deliveries continued to lengthen at a slower rate in March which suggests the worst of the supply chain woes is behind us. Should the trend continue, supplier deliveries will shorten, a good thing for shops receiving materials, but a sign of softening volume overall.
- That the overall Gardner Business Index: Finishing was down while most components (reported as 3-month moving averages) expanded faster or contracted slower in March makes for heightened anticipation of how the combinations will shake out, and potentially synch, come April.
The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Finishing
![Finishing’s index lost some ground in March.](https://d2n4wb9orp1vta.cloudfront.net/cms/brand/PF/2023-PF/2023-03- PF - Web Total.png;maxWidth=720)
Finishing’s index lost some ground in March.
Key Component Activity
![Growth in employment and production likely supported new orders more than backlog. (3-month moving average.)](https://d2n4wb9orp1vta.cloudfront.net/cms/brand/PF/2023-PF/2023-03- PF - Web Emp-Prod-NO.png;maxWidth=720)
Growth in employment and production likely supported new orders more than backlog. (3-month moving average.)
Related Content
-
A Sea Change for Automotive?
Investments in new energy vehicles by major automotive OEMs have been signaling a larger share of the market for electrified vehicles in the not so distant future — but when should finishers invest in new capabilities?
-
Finishing Activity: Expansion Slowed Again in June, Closing at 54.5 Index
June is just the second month of slowed expansion for Finishing this year.
-
EPSI Acquires Custom Rack
EPSI is continuing to grow with the acquisition of Custom Rack, based in Euless, Texas.