Metalworking Index Hits Seasonal Slump in November
Consistent with previous years, the GBI: Metalworking reported underperformance in November compared to October.
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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 dropped 1.3 points for a November reading of 48.1, breaking a months-long trend of incremental gains inching toward expansion. This is an unfortunate but not unexpected decline. With the exception of 2024, November has resulted in a downturn every year since 2016. This year, exports was the lone component to improve from October. Production led components in decline, losing nearly three points while exports was the only component to improve. The Future Business Index remained strong with a three-month average of 64.6.
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.
Find the latest metalworking market research and reporting at GardnerIntelligence.com.
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