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The Gardner Business Index (GBI): Composites Fabricating closed May at 49.2, remaining unchanged from the reading reported in April, and keeping within a two-point hover around “flat” activity.

Index components for this month vary — some somewhat reflect May’s unmoving nature mentioned above, while others saw more perceptible change. Backlog and exports remained in contraction, continuing about the same rate in May as in April. Employment and supplier deliveries expanded, though at marginally slower rates, and so remained about even with what was seen the prior month. New orders and production posted the biggest changes of the components by contracting a little faster.

All in all, contracting activity seems to still be the ongoing trend for this industry. This is further emphasized by future business, a sentiment/outlook measure that is not part of the GBI calculation, but related to it nonetheless; this measure started a downturn in March that has continued into May.