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EBCI Index Tumbles in January

NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions fell sharply in January, its second decline in as many months.
Feb. 8, 2008
2 min read

NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions fell sharply in January, its second decline in as many months.

The index dropped nearly 18 points to 30 points, its lowest level since December 2006. The decline is indicative of a marked weakening in business conditions facing electrical equipment manufacturers heading into 2008.

The EBCI is a monthly survey of electrical manufacturers published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va. It measures the opinions of senior executives in the electrical market regarding business conditions. A reading above 50 indicates conditions favorable to industry expansion, while a reading below that indicates a soft market.

The EBCI future conditions index for North America also slipped further below 50 in January, edging down from 45.7 points in December to 42.5 points in January. It pointed toward continued modest deterioration in business conditions over the first half of 2008.

Current conditions indexes for the other world regions included in the EBCI survey all lost ground in January, but remained above the growth threshold mark of 50 points. The Asia/Pacific index saw the steepest decline, with a drop of 20.6 points from December to 61.5 points. The Latin American index slipped 2.5 points to 54.2 points and the European index slid to 59.1 points from 61.5 points in December.

The EBCI Index for future global conditions showed mixed results, but still stayed in growth territory. The Latin America index fell sharply to 50 points from 63.3 in December, while the European index climbed modestly to 54.5 points from 50 points in December. The Asia/Pacific was unchanged at 67.9 points.