NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions jumped 6 points in April to 42 points. Though it remained below the key 50-point mark indicative of improvement in industry conditions for a 17th straight month, the index nonetheless reached its highest level in nearly a year, and has rallied some 34 points over the last four months from December’s near all-time low. 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 looked even better, pointing for a second month in a row to a possible improvement in business conditions six months ahead. The index climbed from 52 points in March to 60 points in April, its highest level since July 2007. Taken as a whole, April’s results suggest activity in the electrical market may be 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 the year improve, although from depressed levels.
Current conditions indexes for the other three world regions included in the survey indicated continued contraction, but at far lesser rates than a month ago. Future conditions indexes for Latin America and the Asia/Pacific region exceeded 50 points, while the European index remained below the growth threshold.
The Asia/Pacific region’s current conditions improved 5.9 points to 34.8 points, while the region’s future conditions index picked up 4.3 points to 54.3 points; the Latin America future conditions index picked up 17 points, while its current conditions index improved 14.7 points; and Europe’s current conditions index picked up 6.4 points, while its future conditions index picked up 5.7 points.