NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions advanced for a third straight month, and fourth in the last five, in May. Since December 2008, the index has rebounded from a near record low of 8 to 47.9, within sight of the 50-point threshold indicative of an absolute improvement in industry conditions.

The future conditions EBCI for North America climbed from 60 in April to 65.2 in May, marking the third straight time the six-month outlook has signaled improvement. This most recent set of survey results supports the view that the electroindustry is approaching a cyclical trough as the steep declines experienced over the past several months abate and expectations regarding the business environment in the second half of the year improve, albeit from depressed levels.

The Electroindustry Business Confidence Index gauges the business confidence of the electroindustry in Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America, and is based on the results of a monthly survey of senior managers at NEMA member companies. Those companies represent more than 80 percent of the electroindustry.

http://www.nema.org/econ/ebci/index.cfm