September CMI sees sharp declines

NACM’s seasonally adjusted combined Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) for September 2025 deteriorated 2.6 points to 52.4. “This is the first month that the CMI survey data matches what respondents have been saying in their comments, and it is pointing to significant weakness,” said NACM Economist Amy Crews Cutts, Ph.D., CBE. “The level of the index is still in expansion, but it is at the lowest level since January 2024.”

The Index for Unfavorable Factors fell into contraction territory. It deteriorated 2.1 points to 48.8.

• The largest decline was in the index for Dollar Amount Beyond Terms, which lost 6.0 points, falling to 47.0.
• The index for Accounts Placed for Collection deteriorated 1.8 points, marking its 36th month of the last 37 in contraction. This indicates that the number of accounts placed for collections at respondent firms has increased every month for nearly three years with the exception of June 2025 when it was in neutral territory.

The Index for Favorable Factors deteriorated by 3.3 points in this month’s survey although remaining in expansion at 57.7 points.

• While all of the favorable factor indexes are in expansion, the index for Dollar Sales fell 10.5 points—its steepest drop since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic—and the index for Dollar Collections from both due and past due accounts deteriorated 5.9 points to 56.5.

What they’re saying:

• “We are seeing an increase in business failures and bankruptcies, lien filings, and demands for extended terms.”
• “We have not seen a slowdown like this since 2007 and smaller accounts less than $15,000 are immediately going to collections.”
• “Customers continue to find ways to delay or withhold payments due to limited cash flow.”
• “It’s been more difficult to collect payment in the 2nd quarter of 2025 than it has been in the last five years.”

Read the full CMI report here.