Rosslyn, VA, July 27, 2006 -- NEMA's Electroindustry Business Confidence Index for current North American conditions declined for the third month in a row in July, but nonetheless remained above the 50-point growth threshold for a 40th consecutive month. The current conditions index fell to 51.8 in July from the previous month's reading of 53.6. Meanwhile, the index for future North American conditions slumped to 23.2, the lowest mark in its 5-year history, from a value of 27.8 in June.

Current conditions indices for Latin America, Europe, and the Asia/Pacific region again, as in June, posted healthy readings in the high 50s to mid-60s. The future conditions measure was close to unchanged from June for Latin America at 56.3, while readings for Europe and the Asia/Pacific region dropped sharply, with the value for Europe dipping to the low 40s and Asia/Pacific coming to rest at 50.

For a complete summary of the July 2006 index, including charts and a list of participating companies, visit NEMA's website.

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% of the electroindustry.