NEMA EBCI Tumbles In September

NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for future North American conditions tumbled in September, dropping 11.6 points to 29.2 points, its lowest level in two years. Any reading below 50 signifies weakening economic conditions. The EBCI for current North American conditions clawed slightly higher in September, rising to 37.5 points from 37 points in August — the second small increase in as many months. The index is a monthly survey of senior executives at electrical manufacturers published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va.

The EBCI for current North American conditions — which has remained firmly within the low 30-point to high 40-point range over most of the last 18 months — continued to lag the 50-point break-even mark. September results for the other three world regions included in the survey:

• The current conditions reading for Latin America rebounded to 55.6 points from 44.4 points, but the future conditions indicator dropped to 41.7 points from 57.9 points.
• For a second month in a row, current and future indexes for Europe both dropped — to 28.1 points from 29.4 points and to 21.9 points from 27.8 points, respectively.
• The current conditions reading for the Asia/Pacific region climbed to 50 points from 47.2 points, but future conditions slipped to 47.2 points from 52.6 points.

As you can see in the chart on page 3, several key non-residential construction categories registered slight decreases in August 2008 over August 2008. However, the office segment saw a small increase, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Watch these numbers carefully in the future, because they had all been some of the healthier areas of nonresidential construction.