The National Association of Credit Managers’ October 2011 Credit Manager’s Index did not see September’s big gains according to the latest report. The overall index hit 53.8 in September after tumbling to 52.7 in the previous month, but in October the index essentially held steady at 53.7.

According to the press release, the majority of economic indicators has been reasonably positive over the past few weeks and seems to be pointing to better months to come and the CMI index did not dispel this assumption, although the slower pace of progress indicates that a rapid recovery is unlikely in any but a handful of sectors.

The report highlights improvements in the manufacturing sector.  The major factor in the growth of the manufacturing side appears to be anticipation of a better 2012.  The surveys on capital expenditures suggest that most manufacturers are planning to make some significant capital equipment purchases which generally trigger more credit requests.  According to the report, there as jump in new credit applications which illustrates increased interest in capital expenditure, however, there was also a reduction in the amount of credit extended which reflects that some of companies requesting credit are not in a very strong financial position.
 
This report and the September 2011 Report is available in the Industry Data section of Equipment Finance Advisor