Demand Net Rising Index
The Graph of the Week is the Net Rising Index of Industry Demand from the April 2008 NABE Industry Survey. From the survey:
Overall industry demand growth fell to its lowest level since the recession of 2001. The net rising index (NRI)—the difference between the percent of respondents who reported rising minus falling demand—came in at 6 compared to last quarter’s level of 20 and to double-digit levels every quarter since 2003 Q1. (See Figure 1.) The NRI is consistent with other evidence that the U.S. economy is currently experiencing slow growth or recession. The percent of firms reporting falling demand has hovered at about 20 for three quarters now; the key to the dramatic fall in the NRI is the decrease in those firms reporting improving demand from about 40% for the past year to 28% in Q1.