Scores for the Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) appear to have shaken off worrisome numbers from last month and settled on a generally upbeat tone, according to the National Association of Credit Management’s (NACM) April economic report.
The combined index moved from last month’s 54.3 to 55.8, a slightly higher reading than in February. The index of favorable factors saw a nice bump back to its February level while unfavorable factors showed a fractional increase.
“The month showed a significant improvement over the previous month, as most of the numbers seemed to rebound to levels seen in February and near the high level for the last few years,” said NACM Economist Chris Kuehl, Ph.D. “Thus far, the enthusiasm regarding economic growth remains intact and suggests that confidence levels may be pulling the economy along, as opposed to the usual pattern.”
Among the favorable categories, sales rose to a level not seen in years, while the most interesting movement was with dollar collections, rising nearly five points to allay last month’s concerns. Amount of credit extended also saw a nice jump of nearly three points.
As has been the norm for several months, the unfavorables left a little to be desired, but most categories trended upward. A slight increase in the rejections of credit applications number is good news, indicating creditworthiness among those seeking credit. A much-improved reading was seen for dollar amount beyond terms, which shifted from contraction to expansion territory easing concerns from last month. The filings for bankruptcies category slid slightly but remained in expansion territory.
“Overall, there was a gain this month and the dip in March seems to have been reversed,” Kuehl said. “The big gains were in manufacturing, and the service sector more or less held steady on the strength of the favorable factors despite continued weakness in the unfavorables.”
For a complete breakdown of the manufacturing and service sector data and graphics, view the April 2017 report at http://web.nacm.org/CMI/PDF/CMIcurrent.pdf CMI archives may also be viewed on NACM’s website at http://www.nacm.org/cmi/cmi-archive.html