Confidence in North American Electrical Industry Conditions Continues to Improve

The Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions rallied in November, climbing 2.1 points to 54 points.

The index topped the 50-point threshold indicative of improving conditions for a fourth straight month, largely consistent with several other indicators suggesting the electroindustry began to climb out of its steep downturn, if slowly, during the third quarter. The EBCI, a monthly survey of senior executives at electrical manufacturers, is published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va.

While the current conditions for North America improved, the EBCI index for future North American conditions slipped in November for the second month in a row, declining 3.5 points to 58 points. The figure is still over the 50-point level indicative of improving business conditions over the next six months, yet the future conditions index, and by implication the degree of anticipated improvement in market conditions, slipped to its lowest level in eight months.

The EBCI indexes for global markets dropped, too. Current conditions in Latin America dropped a half-point to 47.2 points and future conditions for that region plummeted 10.2 points. Europe saw its EBCI indexes drop 8.3 points for current conditions and six points for future conditions.

Asia saw a 5.2-point drop for current conditions and a whopping 18.2-point decrease for future conditions. Over the past few months, the EBCI indexes for the Asia/Pacific had been higher than other global regions. Its current conditions index is still the highest, but Latin America now has the highest EBCI index for future conditions.