NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions advanced in May for a third straight month, and fourth in the last five. Since December 2008, the index has rebounded from a near record low of 8 points to 47.9 points, and is within sight of the 50-point threshold indicative of an absolute improvement in industry conditions. This pattern of results suggests the rate of deterioration in the business environment has slowed dramatically over the first part of 2009. The EBCI is a monthly survey of electrical manufacturers published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va.
The future EBCI for North America climbed from 60 points in April to 65.2 in May, marking the third straight time the six-month outlook has signaled improvement. This month’s survey supports the view that the market is approaching a cyclical trough as the steep declines experienced over the past several months abate and expectations regarding the business environment in the second half of 2009 improve.
Current and future conditions indexes for the other three world regions included in the survey all rose in May. The current conditions reading for the Asia/Pacific region climbed from 34.8 points to 61.9 points, and the index for future conditions in the region also climbed dramatically, up 30.7 points to 85 points. The current and future conditions indexes for the other regions covered by EBCI survey also improved, but not quite as dramatically as in the Asia/Pacific region. Current conditions in Latin America inched up about a point to 35 points, while future conditions climbed
11.1 points to 65 points. Current conditions in Europe improved from 21.1 points to 33.3 points, while future conditions increased to 52.6 points from 42.5 points.