Finishing Activity Contracting But Slightly Slower in October
While new orders improved, materials prices continue to increase.
Finishing Index
The Gardner Business Index (GBI) is an indicator of the current state of the finishing industry survey responses regarding new orders, production, backlog, employment, exports and supplier deliveries. Over 50 is expansion, and under 50 is contraction.
The October GBI shows finishing is still contracting overall but contraction slowed slightly this month. Production contraction also slowed, as did exports and backlog. Future business and average spend are improving faster rising by more than 2 points and nearly 10%, respectively.
The GBI Components Scorecard reports the monthly change rate of primary composites market factors contributing to the overall monthly index reading.
Reading the Scorecard:
Color indicates where a component value falls relative to 50 for the current month. Green indicates expansion; red indicates contraction.
Shade indicates a value’s distance from 50; the darker the shade, the further from 50.
Direction indicates a value’s change versus the previous time period. Pointing up is always better.
