NEMA’s EBCI Index Reflects Uncertain Outlook

An uptick in the share of manufacturers’ execs who reported unchanged conditions in the NEMA ElectroIndustry Business Conditions Index (EBCI), combined with a decline in the number of responses indicating a worsening business environment, have boosted the current component of the EBCI to an expansionary reading by the narrowest of margins. October’s score of 50 points is nearly four points higher than last month’s reading. The future conditions component continued to lose ground, sliding seven points to 39.3 in October, its lowest reading since Feb. 2009. Concerns about the effect of tariffs, and the apparent likelihood that hoped-for infrastructure expenditures are off the table, serve as a backdrop to the erosion in optimism.