NEMA EBCI Index for North America Shows Slight Gain In Current Conditions for June

Aug. 14, 2009
NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions edged up slightly in July, rising 0.3 points to 41.7 points

NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions edged up slightly in July, rising 0.3 points to 41.7 points. This followed a retreat in June, which saw the EBCI Index slip 6.6 points from May’s post-financial crisis high of 47.9 points.

The EBCI is a monthly survey of electrical manufacturers published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va. While the EBCI Index has snapped back smartly from a cyclical low of eight points in December 2008, it continues to indicate a modest degree of deterioration in the environment facing the global electroindustry.

Meanwhile, the North American EBCI Index for future conditions slipped slightly in July, dipping 1.5 points from 68.2 points to 66.7 points. Nonetheless, the index managed to top the 50-point threshold suggestive of industry growth for a fifth month in a row, indicating that a healthy proportion of industry executives expect at least some degree of improvement in the business situation within the next six months from its current depressed level.

The report also showed marked improvement in Europe, with current conditions up 21.9 points and future conditions jumping 23.2 points. Economic conditions in Latin America were steady, with current and future conditions growing one point and 0.6 points, respectively. The Asia-Pacific region saw declines of 12.5 points in current conditions and 16.2 percent in future conditions.