Credit Manager's Index for December 2004: Economy Continues to Grow

COLUMBIA, MD – The National Association of Credit Management (NACM) has released its Credit Manager’s Index (CMI) for December 2004. The CMI, a monthly survey of the business economy from the standpoint of credit and collections, was launched in January 2003 to provide financial analysts with another strong economic indicator.

There continues to be slight erosion in month-over-month growth; however, the economy continues to grow. To provide a year-over-year perspective, review the table at http://www.nacm.org/resource/press_release/pressDec04.html. It shows a comparison of December 2004 data to that of December 2003. The results reveal stronger December performance this year in the manufacturer sector and slightly weaker results for the service component.

The CMI survey asks credit managers to rate favorable and unfavorable factors in their monthly business cycle. Favorable factors include sales, new credit applications, dollar collections and amount of credit extended. Unfavorable factors include rejections of credit applications, accounts placed for collections, dollar amounts of receivables beyond terms and filings for bankruptcies.

A complete index including results from the manufacturing and service sectors, along with the methodology, is attached. To view the complete index online, go to http://www.nacm.org/resource/press_release/pressDec04.html.

The National Association of Credit Management (NACM), headquartered in Columbia, Maryland supports more than 25,000 business credit and financial professionals worldwide with premier industry services, tools and information. NACM and its network of Affiliated Associations are the leading resource for credit and financial management information and education, delivering products and services which improve the management of business credit and accounts receivable. NACM’s collective voice has influenced legislative results concerning commercial business and trade credit to our nation’s policy makers for more than 100 years, and continues to play an active part in legislative issues pertaining to business credit and corporate bankruptcy.