Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Restaurant Current Situation Index Reaches 100.3 in April, The Highest Level in April Since July 2007

National.Restaurant Association -- "Buoyed by positive same-store sales and solid optimism among restaurant operators for continued growth, the outlook for the restaurant industry remained positive in April. The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 100.9 in April, essentially unchanged from a level of 101.0 in March. In addition, April represented the 5th consecutive month in which the RPI stood above 100, which signifies expansion in the index of key industry indicators.

The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators (same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures), stood at 100.3 in April – up slightly from a March level of 100.2. In addition, the Current Situation Index stood above 100 for the 2nd consecutive month, which signifies expansion in the current situation indicators (see chart above).

The Expectations Index, which measures restaurant operators’ six-month outlook for four industry indicators (same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions), stood at 101.5 in April – down from a level of 101.7 in March. The Expectations Index stood above the 100 level for the 9th consecutive month, which signifies expansion in the forward-looking indicators (see chart above)."


MP: At 100.3, the Current Situation Index in April was at the highest level since July 2007, almost four years ago.  It's also the first time since the summer of 2007 that the Current Situation Index has remained above the benchmark 100 level, which signals expansion of restaurant activity. 

5 Comments:

At 5/31/2011 10:26 PM, Blogger Buddy R Pacifico said...

From the restaurant survey:

"Forty-eight percent of operators said they made a capital
expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling during
the last three months, the highest level in nearly three years."


That is confidence in cash flow sustainability and growth for the food prep industry.

 
At 6/01/2011 6:35 AM, Blogger Bernie Ecch said...

It must be a market distortion as restaurants are protected by government intervention from competition by those street vendors whose cause Dr Perry is always championing.

 
At 6/01/2011 8:13 AM, Blogger morganovich said...

this seems like a tiny blip in comparison to the big drop in consumer confidence and the abysmal ADP number today.

(38k jobs vs 175 expectation)

while i understand that mark prefers to only show positive data, this seems like quite a reach in light of what the other numbers are doing.

this is not an improving economy right now and no amount of cherry picking will make it so.

 
At 6/01/2011 10:12 AM, Blogger morganovich said...

"The pace of growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector tumbled in May, slackening more than expected to its slowest since September 2009, according to an industry report released Wednesday.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity fell to 53.5 in May from 60.4 the month before. The reading missed economists' expectations for 57.7."

 
At 6/02/2011 6:10 AM, Blogger cluemeister said...

Reason why the economy is stalling:

Small business owners, even those showing increased activity, are refusing to hire because of more taxes coming their way. They're getting hit with huge unemployment tax bills, insurance hikes, and also fear Obamacare's impact on their business. Throw in massive government spending and borrowing, and businesses are hunkering down, knowing they'll be the target to solve the problem created by a massive government.

 

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