North American business conditions continued to improve on balance in May, though positive sentiment was less widespread than in the previous month, according to NEMA's Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI), a survey of senior executives of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va.
The EBCI for current North American conditions slipped three points to 68.8 points, with 10 of the 24 panelists responding to this month's survey reporting that conditions were better relative to April. However, May's EBCI remained far above the 50-point level indicative of an environment conducive to growth in the electrical market and marked the fifth straight month of expansion when judged by this measure.
Meanwhile, the EBCI for future North American conditions climbed 3.2 points to 77.1 points, its highest level since January. Thirteen respondents expect the improvement seen since the beginning of the year to continue over the next six months, with the rest anticipating little to no change in conditions. None of the panel's senior executives expect conditions to deteriorate despite pervasive concern over the global ramifications of the European financial situation.
Indeed, Europe's EBCI Indexes for current economic conditions dropped 28.9 points to 36.7 points and 23.2 points to 53.3 points for future conditions. The EBCI Index for Latin America was mixed, down 8.4 points for current conditions to 60 points but up 5.3 points to 77.8 points for future conditions. The Asia-Pacific EBCI Indexes were both down, with a 16.3-point drop for current conditions to 53.1 points and a 6.4-point drop to 64.7 points for future conditions.