NRA’s Performance Index Rose In November

Jumps in same-store sales and traffic and increasing optimism about the next six months pushed the Restaurant Performance Index maintained by the National Restaurant Association higher in November. One capital expenditure indicator in the index was up, the other fell slightly.

“The November increase…was fueled by broad-based gains in both the current situation and forward-looking indicators,” said Hudson Riehle, senior v.p. of NRA’s Research and Knowledge Group. “Restaurant operators reported their strongest net positive same-store sales results in more than four years, while customer traffic levels also grew in November.”

The overall index rose 0.6 point to 100.6, the third consecutive month that the index has stood above the 100 level that signals the difference between expansion and contraction. It was also the highest reading for the index in five months. The four component Current Situation Index was up 0.8 point to break the 100 mark at 100.2. The Expectations Index, which also has four indicators, increased 0.4 point to 100.9, as the markers for same-store sales and business conditions during the next six month were up 0.9 point and 0.7 point respectively.

The indicator that tracks restaurant operators that made a capital expenditure during the past three month increased half a point to 98.8, as 46% of operators reported such a purchase, up from 44% in October. Operators that said they plan to make a capital expenditure during the next six months fell slightly to 47% in the November survey, down from 49% in October; this dropped the indicator to 99.4, off 0.4 point. It was the only indicator in the eight-component index to decline in November.

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