The Gardner Business Index (GBI) measures the current state of durable goods manufacturing activity through survey responses covering new orders, production, backlog, employment, exports and supplier deliveries. A reading above 50 indicates expansion; below 50 indicates contraction.

The Gardner Business Index accelerated in April, climbing to 56.2.
Source: GROW Industrial Intelligence

The Gardner Business Index rebounded in April, picking up 2.1 points for a reading of 56.2. The result marks the fourth consecutive month of expansion for the Index which has shown resilience in the face of rising pricing pressure and supply chain constraints across manufacturing verticals. All components improved month-over-month with supplier deliveries posting the largest gains followed by production and exports. All manufacturing process sub-indices tracked by the GBI improved in April led by the Plastics Processing Index at 57.8. The Composites Fabricating Index saw the largest increase from March with a 5.1-point jump to 57.3. More broadly, facilities may be reacting to the sustained growth by planning additional purchases. Estimated spending over the next 12 months finally saw an uptick after several months in decline to start the year. The most recent average of $467,000 sits just below last April’s mark but ahead of readings from the better part of 2025. Despite rising material costs and lengthening supplier deliveries, the Future Business Index reflects optimism at 66.9, although down slightly from last month.

The GBI Components Scorecard reports the monthly change rate of primary market factors contributing to the overall monthly index reading.

All components’ three-month averages exceeded month and year ago results.
Source: GROW Industrial Intelligence

Reading the Scorecard: Color indicates where a component value falls relative to 50 for the current month. Green indicates expansion; 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.

GBI Spending Intentions reports the average estimated spending per plant over the next 12 months and the percent of facilities indicating they do not plan to make capital purchases. Both are reported as a three-month moving average.

The average spend per plant over the next 12 months increased to $467K in April.
Source: GROW Industrial Intelligence

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 saw a slight decline but remains strong at 66.9.
Source: GROW Industrial Intelligence