Moldmaking Index Shows Continued Growth in 2017

Registering 52.8 for November, the Gardner Business Index (GBI): Moldmaking expanded at its slowest pace of any month in 2017. In spite of this, the 2017 year-to-date average for the Moldmaking Index of 55.5 suggests that 2017 is on pace to be one of the fastest growing calendar years since the inception of the Moldmaking Index. For the sake of reference, 2014 was an excellent year, and it experienced an average reading of 53.9. For the year-to-date period, the Moldmaking Index has increased by 1.7 percent. Gardner Intelligence’s review of the underlying data for the month indicates that employment, production and supplier deliveries lifted the Moldmaking Index higher while new orders, backlog and exports pulled the Moldmaking Index lower. The employment reading was the only component to increase during November. For the month, backlog contracted for the first time this year, and exports contracted at its fastest pace in the calendar year. Measuring only custom processors, the Moldmaking Index also fell in November. Examining custom processors only, the Moldmaking Index is up 7.0 percent in the year-to-date period, bolstered by supplier deliveries and held back by backlog and exports.