The latest Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) results suggest the North American electroindustry remained in a “soft patch” in August. The EBCI for current North American conditions slipped to 35.7 from 38.6 in July, the second consecutive month it has fallen short of the 50 point level indicating an equal number of panelists see conditions improving as see them deteriorating. In August, 19% of panelists reported a “better” business climate compared to the previous month while almost 48% reported “worse” conditions than in July. One-third reported that conditions had not changed from July to August.

The survey’s measure of the degree of change in current North American conditions also inched slightly further into the red in August, declining to -0.5 from -0.4 a month ago. Panelists are asked to report intensity of change on a scale ranging from –5 (deteriorated significantly) through 0 (unchanged) to +5 (improved significantly).

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