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Jan Schafer Director of Market Research
Jan is a market research professional who loves learning and adding value to the ´óÏó´«Ã½es of Gardner’s advertisers, audience, and the company itself. Her curiosity, ´óÏó´«Ã½ knowledge, client service and shameless resourcefulness combine to enable Jan to lead research in manufacturing from objective-setting (do not even try to bypass it…) to delivering data-based recommendations (can’t dodge those either…) Jan attributes her capabilities to education in psychology and ´óÏó´«Ã½ administration followed by a healthy dose of ‘mixing it up.’ Her experience includes tending bar (more useful than you might expect,) early years (okay, 15!) at Procter & Gamble, developing her own consulting ´óÏó´«Ã½, and leading supply-side research before landing the perfect gig at Gardner.
Plastics Processing Activity Contracted in July
Plastics processing GBI contracted for the third month in a row.
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Processing Takes a Dip in June
Plastics activity took a relatively big downturn in June, ending at a low for the year and lower than the same month a year ago.
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Processing Activity Dips in May
Plastics processing took a downturn in May, the first appreciable dip since November 2023.
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Processing Activity Nears Expansion Level
Plastics processing kept pushing along in April, landing less than one point shy of expansion.
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Processing Making Slow, Steady Progress
Plastics processing activity didn’t make its way into expansion territory in March, but seems headed in that direction.
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February Index Dips a Tiny Bit
Index holds steady as optimism about future ´óÏó´«Ã½ conditions continues to increase among processors.
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Plastics Processing 'Jumps' into New Year
While still in contraction mode, the index came in at highest level since March 2023.
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Plastics Processing Pattern Prevails With an Uptick in December
Like December 2022, the December 2023 index represents increased activity following dips in November.
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Plastics Processing Activity Drops in November
The drop in plastics activity appears to be driven by a return to accelerated contraction for three closely connected components — new orders, production and backlog.
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Contraction in Processing Slows in October
The Gardner Business Index for plastics processing activity jumped a bit in October, though it still contracted as it has since July 2022.
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Plastics Processing Activity Continues to Contract
September’s survey results mark a third month of a very similar GBI.
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Plastics Processing Activity Held Steady in August
Monthly index indicates overall plastics processing activity stayed on its path of contraction.
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