Moldmaking Index Expands on Supplier Deliveries

The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Moldmaking expanded during July, registering 50.6 thanks to an uptick in supplier deliveries. Index readings above 50 indicate expanding activity while values below 50 indicate contracting activity. The further away a reading is from 50, the greater the change in business activity. Compared to the July 2018, the Index is 9.4% lower. Gardner Intelligence’s review of the month’s underlying data found that supplier deliveries, which increased in activity in July, was the leading Index component. The Index was also supported by production and new orders. A no-change reading in employment activity combined with contracting backlog and export activity all pulled the Index lower.

For a second month in a row, new orders activity fell below that of production. This delta between orders and production may have contributed to July’s contractionary backlog reading. In the year-to-date period, backlogs have reported four months of contracting activity, two months of expanding activity and one month of no change. Only exports have reported more months of contracting activity during 2019, suppressing total new orders activity.