We all need some good news and this report says in part:
The Expectations Index, which measures restaurant operators’ six-month outlook for four industry indicators (same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions), stood at 100.1 in January – up 0.2 percent from December and its third gain in the past four months. In addition, the Expectations Index crossed above the 100 level for the first time in 9 months, which signifies expansion in the forward-looking indicators.
Restaurant operators remain relatively optimistic about sales growth in the months ahead. Thirty-three percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared with the same period in the previous year), compared with 35 percent who reported similarly last month. In comparison, 22 percent of restaurant operators expect their sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year, and 21 percent reported similarly last month.
Restaurant operators are also cautiously optimistic about the direction of the economy in the months ahead. Twenty-nine percent of restaurant operators said they expect economic conditions to improve in six months, and 18 percent expect economic conditions to worsen during the next six months. Last month, 34 percent of operators said they expected the economy to improve in six months, and18 percent expected economic conditions to deteriorate.
With a relatively optimistic outlook for sales and the economy, restaurant operators’ plans for capital expenditures ticked upward this month. Forty-three percent of restaurant operators plan to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months, up from 39 percent who reported similarly last month.
Since quite a bit of dairy is consumed in restaurants, it is nice to see the future is projected to be better.
The farm auction guys are also doing pretty good this spring. I suspect their immediate future is bright as long as the milk prices stay low. Always such a sad thing, I think.
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