Moldmaking Index Falls to 45.0 in April Amid Tariff Uncertainty

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 fell 7.4 points to land at 45.0 in April.

Manufacturers felt the impacts of recent tariff uncertainty in April and the moldmaking industry was no exception. Breaking a streak of six consecutive months of improving conditions, the Moldmaking Index dropped to 45.0 in April. New orders took the hardest hit, falling nearly 20 points from March, reflecting a broad feeling of hesitancy in the economy. Supplier deliveries and employment were positive, improving on their three-month averages, and all components except exports registered higher than readings from one year ago. The Future Business Index saw a moderate drop but the three-month average remained positive.

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.