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Sales plummet to worst reading since 2023, CMI shows

NACM’s Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) fell 1.2 points to 54.1 in December. Coming off the 26-month high set last month, the weaker reading is driven by a large drop in sales revenue and dollars collected on due and past-due invoices.
 |  Annacaroline Caruso, CICP, director of communications  |  , ,

NACM’s Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) fell 1.2 points to 54.1 in December. Coming off the 26-month high set last month, the weaker reading is driven by a large drop in sales revenue and dollars collected on due and past-due invoices.

“The overall CMI remains robust but the sharp drop in sales revenue is worth watching to see if it is a temporary phenomenon or more problematic,” said NACM Economist Amy Crews Cutts, Ph.D., CBE.

Unfavorable factors rose for a second month, remaining in expansion territory. The index sits at 51.1, up a half point from last month’s value. Accounts placed for collection is at 49.6 this month, its 28th month in contraction. This means the number of accounts placed for collections has increased every month for more than two years.

The favorable factors index remains solidly in expansion at 58.7 even after declining 3.6 points in this month’s survey. Sales led the drop, plummeting 9.8 points to 53.6, its weakest reading since August 2023.

What CMI respondents are saying:

  • “We are experiencing a major slowdown. Customers are unable to take additional inventory as warehouses are full.”
  • “I am seeing more customers take advantage of discounts than in prior months.”
  • “The majority of our customers are working with us to clear out older transactions before we close out the year. That’s a good thing.”
  • “Sales have dropped tremendously and so far, January 2025 is not looking good.”
  • “Though somewhat seasonal and despite a slight increase in average order size, the number of orders and overall sales dropped off precipitously diving 19+%. We are not sure what to make of this yet.”
  • “Weather has impacted our Pacific region.”
  • “While the holiday months are always a slow period, we have customers with strong, contracted-growth forecast in the near future.”

The January CMI Survey opens on Monday, Jan. 6. Sign up now to receive a notification when the Survey is ready to be completed. You can view the full December CMI report here.

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Annacaroline Caruso, CICP, director of communications

Annacaroline graduated from Boston University in 2019 with a degree in Journalism. Her career has taken her from Dublin, Ireland to South Bend, Indiana before returning home to Baltimore, Maryland. She joined the NACM family in 2021 and helped launch the Extra Credit podcast. Annacaroline is passionate about creating content for B2B credit managers and using her storytelling skills to raise awareness about the profession. She invites story ideas at annacarolinec@nacm.org.