February 27, 2008 - Rosslyn VA: NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions lagged the critical 50-point threshold, which is indicative of industry expansion, for a third straight month in February. Still, the index gained ground in absolute terms, climbing nearly 12 points to 41.7 from 30 a month ago.

Meanwhile, the mean degree of change in current North American business conditions climbed to -0.1 in February from a reading of -0.8 in January (on a scale ranging from –5 [deteriorated significantly] through 0 [stayed the same] to +5 [improved significantly]).

Taken together, February’s results imply that, while the business environment facing electrical equipment manufacturers continued to weaken in the latest month, the pace of deterioration was considerably slower than a month earlier.   

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.