Published
Finishing Activity: Overall Finishing Activity Accelerated Contraction in July, Closing at 42.9
Finishing activity experienced accelerated contraction for the third month in a row, down 1.1 points from June. It is down almost 5 points (4.8) from the April reading before it first started to drop, and has not been this low since May 2020.
The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Finishing activity is performing like most manufacturing segments, showing signs of contraction in the past few months.
- Key components, new orders, production and backlog all contracted faster in July, driving the overall index contraction.
- Exports, generally living in a tight range of contracting values, posted one of its steeper declines (1.3) in July.
- Employment was the only contracting component that held its own, staying at about the same value since April.
- Supplier deliveries continued to lengthen in July, at a slightly slower pace.
- Expectations of future business (not part of the GBI calculation) stayed positive, at about the same value it has been since April.
The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Finishing
![chart](https://d2n4wb9orp1vta.cloudfront.net/cms/brand/PF/2024-PF/2024-07--pf---web-total.png;maxWidth=720)
Finishing activity contracted at an accelerated rate in July.
Key Component Activity (3-month moving averages)
![chart](https://d2n4wb9orp1vta.cloudfront.net/cms/brand/PF/2024-PF/2024-07--pf---web-prod-no-blog.png;maxWidth=720)
New orders, production and backlog accelerated contraction, driving contraction in the overall Finishing index.