The situation on the ground was little changed since last month, but that left major headwinds still facing electrical manufacturers, according to NEMA’s EBCI report for April. NEMA execs mentioned concerns about inflation and supply chain problems that were further exacerbated by China’s lockdown of its largest city and one of its busiest ports, Shanghai, to clamp down on rising COVID cases.
The ElectroIndustry Business Conditions Index (EBCI) is a monthly survey of senior executives at electrical manufacturers published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, VA. Any score over the 50-point level indicates a greater number of panelists see conditions improving than see them deteriorating.
The share of respondents that reported better conditions increased in April, but the proportion that noted worse conditions ticked up as well. The net effect was a modest shift from an overall “unchanged” reading of 50 points in March to one of slow growth expansion at 54.2 points in April.
Mirroring the concerns they stated regarding current conditions, panel members expected supply chain problems, inflation, higher interest rates and workforce struggles to remain as impediments to growth six months from now. The EBCI Future Conditions Index changed slightly from 32.1 points in March to 33.3 points in April’s results.
