Automotive suppliers are facing a crisis of confidence heading into 2019.

The business is currently performing well but a greasy fog of pessimism is enveloping its leaders as sales begin to slow and the White House's trade disputes rage on.

The Original Equipment Supplier Association's Automotive Supplier Barometer, a quarterly survey meant to measure the anecdotal outlook for industry, fell to its lowest level in years recently. The barometer, which surveyed 102 companies between Oct. 24 and Nov. 16, dropped to 39, the lowest level since the 2011 9.1-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck the northern coast of Japan and cut off the parts supply of dozens of plants.

The months following the Lehman Brothers collapse during the Great Recession in 2008-2009 were the only other time the barometer was lower.

But you wouldn't know it from the way the business is going now.

Yet the industry is in the midst of a glut of program launches, with dozens of new and refreshed vehicle models launching. And suppliers remain in a hiring frenzy for newer, better skills despite the gloom hanging over the industry.

"What we're seeing coming through is the worry of the unknown," said OESA CEO Julie Fream. "It's the accumulation of all the unknowns that is creating this uneasiness in the marketplace, and that's creating volatility."