Metalworking Activity Sees Minor Drop in June
Positive results in employment trends and production are offset by supplier deliveries, among other components.
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The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Metalworking measures the current state of metalworking and machining activity through survey responses covering new orders, production, backlog, employment, exports and supplier deliveries. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, and below 50 indicates contraction.
The Metalworking Index dips again in June to 48.1. Source (all figures): Gardner Intelligence
The Metalworking Index dropped slightly in June, losing 0.7 points to land at 48.1. This keeps the index in contraction for a third consecutive month, but well above its position compared to one year ago. Individual components that aided the GBI decline were shorter times in supplier deliveries, indicating less activity in the broader supply chain, and decreases in backlogs reported by shops. One bright spot is employment gaining nearly two points, marking its seventh consecutive month of improvement and pushing the reading above 50 for the first time since May 2023.
The GBI Components Scorecard reports the monthly change rate of primary metalworking 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, and 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 period. Pointing up is always better.
The GBI Future Business Index is an indicator of the future state of the metalworking market from industry respondents regarding their opinion of future business conditions for the next 12 months. Over 50 is expansion and under 50 is contraction.
The Future Business Index ticked up again in June and that improvement is finally revealed in our trended three-month average, leveling out at 58.6.
Find the latest metalworking market research and reporting at GardnerIntelligence.com.
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