Holiday sales push December CMI to seven-month high

Driven by solid holiday sales, the December Credit Managers' Index jumped to 54.4, its highest point since May, according to a news release from the National Association of Credit Management.

A year ago, the monthly CMI was 55.8.

The CMI is created based on a monthly survey of credit and collection professionals, who are asked to rate favorable and unfavorable factors in their monthly business cycle. Any index number greater than 50 indicates growth.

For the service sector, sales rose to 63.3 in December from 58.4 the previous month. The total CMI for the service sector in December, 55.7, was higher than every month except February during the the past year, according to the release.

The index for the manufacturing sector dropped to 53.2 in December from 53.5 the previous month.

“Throughout the year, the manufacturing and service sectors exchanged positions with one another, and it was a rare month when both sectors were on the same track,” NACM Economist Chris Kuehl said in the release. “December was no exception. The service sector grew much faster than manufacturing due to the strength of the retail segments of the index.”

The combined level of sales, 60.5, was its highest since September. New credit applications were down to 55.3 from 57.6 a month before, while dollar collections increased to 61.4, the highest point since February.[[In-content Ad]]