August CMI Turnaround Shows Positivity
NACM's Credit Managers' index is back on track after a hiccup in July. The combined CMI returned to levels seen earlier this year with a 1.8-point climb to 55.2 in August. Much of the improvement was seen in the favorable factors, which increased more than three points to 61.8.
"It looks more and more like July was an outlier in terms of the CMI data," said NACM Economist Chris Kuehl, Ph.D. "Most of the August numbers have returned to the trends started in May and carried through June. The next question is whether September reverses course or matches August and June."
One of the biggest concerns in August was the worsening of the bankruptcy category, which fell in the combined, manufacturing and service indices. "There have been companies hanging on by a thread, and it now appears some can't handle the economic reversals that have emerged in the last few years," added Kuehl.
The manufacturing sector improved by 2.5 points in August; however, the service sector did not perform quite as well with an increase of just over one point.
-Michael Miller, managing editor
