Finishing Activity Maintains Turn Around into 2022

The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Finishing continued accelerated expansion in February.

• Lengthened supply chain activity continued to artificially boost GBI, but at a decelerating rate for the fourth month in a row. This deceleration is a good thing given atypical conditions.
• Accelerated expansion in new orders, production and backlogs were ‘real’ drivers of GBI, as they have been the past 2-3 months, following 5-6 months of decelerated expansion.
• Employment and exports continued to show volatility, with employment still growing and exports still contracting, both at slower rates vs. January.

Looking back at Finishing readings for the past year-plus, they have generally trended similarly, with the exceptions of supplier deliveries and exports. These first two months in 2022 are the first to post four Finishing readings moving in preferred directions. Whether and how long that sustains, as well as when the remaining indicators get on track, remains to be seen.