Economy Archive

With only 40 shopping days left until Christmas, it’s looking like this holiday shopping season will be a bit different from the past few years. With less time between Thanksgiving and Christmas than normal, customers will be packing a lot of their holiday shopping in a shorter period of time.

In October, NACM’s Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) presented a mixed economic picture, with a 0.2-point drop to 52.9 month-over-month, but a 1.5-point gain year-over-year. This level suggests that while the economy remains in expansion, growth is tepid amid notable risks.

On Tuesday, about 45,000 port workers went on strike after their contract expired, following unsuccessful last-minute negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents port operators and container carriers. The daily economic cost could be anywhere from $540 million to upwards of $4 billion.

Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm that tore through the Southeast of the United States last week, has left more than 160 people dead and is estimated to cost the country as much as $34 billion, according to Moody’s Analytics.

In the four years since Congress amended the bankruptcy code to assist small business reorganizations, credit managers still have mixed opinions on the success of these filings.  

NACM’s Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) has been hovering near non-recession lows for more than a year. In August, the CMI gained 1.2 points to 53.5 despite economic hardship.

NACM’s Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) deteriorated 1.6 points to 52.3 in July, suggesting growing economic risk. “The CMI is back to near non-recession lows,” said NACM Economist Amy Crews Cutts, Ph.D., CBE.

Though the U.S. economy has seemingly survived a worst-case scenario recession (for now), debt is rising as a rapid rate for consumers, businesses and the U.S. government.