Metalworking Index Sustains Growth Rate Entering the Second Quarter

Registering 59.5 for April, the Gardner Business Index (GBI): Metalworking was unchanged from the prior month. The index reading calculated among only job shops was down slightly from March. Compared to the same month one year ago, the Metalworking Index grew by 7.4 percent. April’s reading ties with March’s for the second highest in the index’s history. Gardner Intelligence’s review of the underlying data for March indicates that strong expansion in supplier deliveries, production and new orders drove the business index higher. Readings for employment, backlog and exports lowered the index’s average-based calculation. All components of the Metalworking Index, including exports, expanded during April.