Composites Fabricating Index reaches expansion at 50.3

The Composites Index made a three-point leap in January 2025. Source (All Images) | Gardner Intelligence

The Gardner Business Index (GBI) is an indicator of the current state of composites fabricating considering survey responses regarding new orders, production, backlog, employment, exports and supplier deliveries. Over 50 is expansion. Under 50 is contraction.

The composites market is experiencing expansion for the first time since March 2023, according to the GBI: Composites Fabricating’s January 2025 results. This reading — finally surpassing the threshold between contraction and expansion — indicates that a majority of composites fabricators reported business conditions to be better than in December 2024. All index components improved from December to contribute to this milestone with new orders and production experiencing the most significant gains. The Future Business Index (below) also continues to climb with a reading of 70.1. This optimism suggests continued expansion for the composites industry.

The GBI Components Scorecard reports the monthly change rate of primary composites 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 time period. Pointing up is always better.

Industry optimism remained high at the start of the new year.

The GBI Future Business Index is an indicator of the future state of the composites fabrication market industry respondents regarding their opinion of future business conditions for the next 12 months. Over 50 is expansion and under 50 is contraction.

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