Both the manufacturing and service sectors experienced a decline this month, according to the November report of the Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) from the National Association of Credit Management (NACM). The combined CMI index dropped more than a point, from 53.9 in October to 52.6 in November.

“This month, the trend has returned to the stress of the last few, and the timing is not as it should be,” explained NACM Economist Chris Kuehl, Ph.D. “This is the time of year that the consumer comes to the rescue, but it doesn’t appear that will happen this time.”

The respective favorable and unfavorable index factors in NACM’s combined CMI both dropped from the previous month. Every subcategory within these indexes also declined, with four out of six unfavorable categories in contraction territory. “Given all the data that has been emerging as far as the economy’s overall strength, this is not a big surprise, but still a disappointment,” Kuehl noted. “It seems that companies are struggling at this point in the year and that is not a good sign given that this is the time when these companies are expected to make the bulk of their money for the year. This really applies mostly to retail, but the manufacturers respond to that retail drive.”

For a full breakdown of the manufacturing and service sector data and graphics, view the complete November 2015 Credit Manager's Index Report.