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Registering 55.0 for September, the Gardner Business Index (GBI): Composites Fabricating added another strong monthly reading to an already impressive 2017 for the US composites industry. The reading raised the 2017 Index average through September to 54.6, and brought the third quarter to a close, which also registered 54.6. For the year-to-date and 12-month periods, the Index was up, as September closed out, approximately 11% and 8%, respectively. A Gardner Intelligence review of the underlying data for the month indicated that Production, Supplier Deliveries, Employment and New Orders lifted the overall Index higher while Backlogs and Exports pulled the Index lower. The only component that showed contraction (<50.0) for September was Exports.  

Material Prices and Prices Received in the market continued to diverge through the third quarter of the year. The Material Prices subindex has moved higher than the subindex for Prices Received since the beginning of 2016, indicating that fabricators may not be passing some of their increasing costs onto their customers.  

Find out more about the Composites Fabricating Index at .