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Jan Schafer Director of Market Research
Jan is a market research professional who loves learning and adding value to the businesses of Gardner’s advertisers, audience, and the company itself. Her curiosity, business knowledge, client service and shameless resourcefulness combine to enable Jan to lead research in manufacturing from objective-setting (do not even try to bypass it…) to delivering data-based recommendations (can’t dodge those either…) Jan attributes her capabilities to education in psychology and business administration followed by a healthy dose of ‘mixing it up.’ Her experience includes tending bar (more useful than you might expect,) early years (okay, 15!) at Procter & Gamble, developing her own consulting business, and leading supply-side research before landing the perfect gig at Gardner.
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.
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Overall Finishing Activity Accelerated Contraction in June, Closing at 44.0
Finishing activity accelerated contraction for the second month in a row, down 2.5 points from May. Two months does not a trend make, but it does suggest that some degree of softening is real. Because contraction is common across industry segments reinforces that likelihood.
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Finishing Activity: Overall Finishing Activity Contracted a Bit Faster in May, Closing at 46.5
Finishing activity, which slowed contraction each month of 2024 until leveling off in April, contracted faster in May for the first time since November 2023. Some degree of softening is seen across manufacturing segments, perhaps due to lingering concerns about interest rates and inflation.
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Finishing Activity Closing at 47.7 for the Second Month in a Row
After slowing contraction for each of four months straight, Finishing activity leveled off in April. The scenario is similar across manufacturing segments, perhaps reflecting increased conservatism as interest rates and inflation fail to come down.
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Finishing Activity: March closed at 47.7, Up 1.6 from February’s 46.1
March’s 47.7 marks a full quarter of slowed monthly contraction.
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Finishing Activity Made a Repeat Performance in March, Closing at 46.1
The slope is softening, but finishing activity has slowed contraction for three months straight. It will take several more months at the rate it is going, but the index is headed toward 50 (flat).
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Finishing activity contracted again in January, Closing at 45.5
Finishing activity has shown encouraging signs the past two months, the longest ‘stretch’ since starting to contract in April 2023.
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Finishing Activity Contracted in December, Up 1.3 from November’s 43.6
Finishing activity posted its first uptick, in this case, a slight slowing of contraction, since August 2023.
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Finishing Activity Continued to Contract in November, Closing at 43.6
Finishing activity has now contracted for eight months in a row, not unlike other manufacturing segments tracked.
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October Marks Seven Months of Finishing Activity Contraction
Finishing activity contracted again in October, closing at 44.4, exactly the same as September.
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Finishing Activity Contracts in September, Closes at 44.4
The slowed contraction seen in August appears to have been a blip as finishing activity contracted faster again in September to another two points.
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August Finishing Activity: Continued Contraction; Closes at 46.5
Finishing activity reports a degree of redemption in August, ending the month up 1.4 points compared to July.
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