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Data vs Reality: November CMI comments continue to show concern

NACM’s seasonally adjusted combined Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) for November 2025 improved 0.5 points to 55.0. “This is the third month in which the CMI data is showing continued expansion, consistent with the trend that we’ve seen for the past two years,” said NACM Economist Amy Crews Cutts, Ph.D., CBE. “Worryingly, the comments from respondents also continue to be strongly negative, showing significant stress behind the numbers.”
 |  Sara Asomaning, Managing Editor  | 

NACM’s seasonally adjusted combined Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) for November 2025 improved 0.5 points to 55.0.

“This is the third month in which the CMI data is showing continued expansion, consistent with the trend that we’ve seen for the past two years,” said NACM Economist Amy Crews Cutts, Ph.D., CBE. “Worryingly, the comments from respondents also continue to be strongly negative, showing significant stress behind the numbers.”

The Index for Unfavorable Factors has not wavered much above or below the 50-point line which denotes the break between contraction and expansion. It gained 0.7 points, improving to 51.1 points.

  • Half of the Unfavorable Factors deteriorated. The largest decline was in the Rejections of Credit Applications factor, which lost 1.4 points, falling to 50.5.
  • The Accounts Placed for Collection Factor deteriorated 0.3 points, marking its 38th month of the last 39 in contraction.

The Index for Favorable Factors improved by 0.1 points this month, sitting comfortably in expansion at 60.8 points.

  • All Favorable Factors are in expansion and above 60 points.

What respondents are saying:

  • “No Chapter 11 filings the past month for our customer base—casual dining has been hit hard. We did have a couple last month that designated us as critical vendors, which we have not experienced in a while. We are seeing more customers who are not paying and who are avoiding collection efforts.”
  • “Accounts placed for third-party collection have increased. We are also receiving more requests for payment plans. We are concentrating on collection efforts over the next 45 days, as this is historically a strong season for the restaurant and hospitality industries.”
  • “We are experiencing unnecessary disputes—disputes are the reason cited for holding payments. There’s also an increase in the requests for higher credit limits.”

Read 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.