NRA’s Performance Index Rose In April

Strong gains in same-store sales and traffic pushed up the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index in April. One indicator of capital spending was flat while the other rose sharply.

The overall RPI rose 0.5 point to 102.7. It was the 26^th consecutive month the index indicated the restaurant industry is expanding. Any reading of any component of the RPI greater than 100 signals expansion vs. contraction. The overall index remains at a height not seen since 2006.

The Current Situation Index was up a full point to 102.9. The current same-store-sales indicator rose 1.9 points to a very high 105.8 while the traffic indicator jumped 1.8 points to 103. The labor component, a marker of current employee head count and hours, ticked up 0.3 point.

The Expectations Index, on the other hand, nudged down 0.1 point. Same-store-sales expectations in six months dropped 0.9 point, while the outlook for future business conditions was off 1.2 points. The staffing indicator, which measures expected employee counts in six months, rose 0.9 point.

The cap-ex measure that tracks spending during the past three months was flat at 101.2—well above the tipping point—as 56% of those surveyed reported an investment in equipment, remodeling or expansion. Plans to make a cap-ex buy in the next six months rose 1.1 points to 102.3 in April with 59% reporting such intentions up from 53% reporting a planned purchase in March.

The complete NRA RPI can be found here. “””