NRA’s Performance Index Suggests Improving Market

Restaurant operators reported their strongest net positive same-store sales results in more than four years in November, while customer traffic levels also grew. The positive numbers pushed the Restaurant Performance Index maintained by the National Restaurant Association higher for the month. One capital expenditure indicator in the index was up, the other fell slightly.

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. Seven of the eight components of the overall index moved higher for the month.

“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.”

The four-component Current Situation Index was up 0.8 point to break the 100 mark at 100.2. All four CSI components rose, with same-store sales and traffic up 1.2 and 1.1 points respectively. 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 months 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 months 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.