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April CMI: Hard data indicating economic stability

NACM’s seasonally adjusted combined Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) for April 2025 improved 0.7 points to 54.0. “The Credit Managers’ Index improvement currently reflects accelerated business activity ahead of new tariffs,” said NACM Economist Amy Crews Cutts, Ph.D., CBE.
 |  Sara Asomaning, Managing Editor  |  , ,

NACM’s seasonally adjusted combined Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) for April 2025 improved 0.7 points to 54.0. “The Credit Managers’ Index improvement currently reflects accelerated business activity ahead of new tariffs,” said NACM Economist Amy Crews Cutts, Ph.D., CBE.

The Index for Unfavorable Factors remained just over 50, sliding from 51.2 to 50.1, clinging in expansion territory.

Favorable factors improved 3.2 points in April, climbing to 59.7 points, in expansion. Three of the four component favorable factor indexes improved, with dollar collections on both due and past-due accounts seeing the largest improvement.

What respondents are saying:

  • “Dollar amounts of sales and credit extended are being skewed by the tariffs—not only due to the increased costs but also the panic buying of commodities in advance of the effective dates. A lot of uncertainty is driving unusual customer behavior.”
  • “Customers are asking for extended terms or are simply being slow to pay.”
  • “We have filed more mechanic’s liens in the past few months than we have in the past five years.”
  • “The tariffs against China are causing an increased interest in our offerings and making us more competitive.”

There is no tool as instrumental as the CMI. It serves as a valuable resource that gains power as an economic forecast as more and more credit managers complete the survey. The May CMI survey opens Monday, May 5 and closes Thursday, May 22. View the full report here.

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Sara Asomaning, Managing Editor

Sara Asomaning holds a B.S. in English from Towson University. With a background in writing, copyediting and proofreading, she has a keen eye for detail. Outside of work, she spends much of her time being creative with music, photography, and social media content creation.