Moldmaking Index Continues Strong 2025 with 52.4 in March

Moldmaking Index

The Gardner Business Index (GBI) measures the current state of moldmaking 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 Moldmaking Index revealed continued growth in business conditions with a reading of 52.4 in March. This marks the sixth consecutive month of improvement for the index and the strongest reading since the first half of 2022. Once again, all components improved on month and year-ago results with new orders and production seeing the most significant gains. The Future Business Index experienced a decline amid concerns over tariff legislation but remains in a strong position.

Components Scorecard

The GBI Components Scorecard reports the monthly change rate of primary moldmaking 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; 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.

Future Business Index

The GBI Future Business Index is an indicator of the future state of the moldmaking 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.