WASHINGTON, D.C. — Restaurant industry performance edged up slightly in January as the National Restaurant Association's comprehensive index of restaurant activity registered a modest gain. The Association's Restaurant Performance Index — a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry — stood at 98.9 in January, up from December's level of 98.7.
The RPI is based on the responses to the NRA's Restaurant Industry Tracking Survey, which is fielded monthly among restaurant operators nationwide on a variety of indicators including sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures. The RPI consists of two components — the Current Situation Index and the Expectations Index.
Index values above 100 indicate that key industry indicators are in a period of expansion, while index values under 100 represent a period of contraction for key industry indicators.
The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators — same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures — stood at 97.9 in January, down 0.2 percent from December and its third consecutive monthly decline. In addition, January marked the fifth consecutive month below 100, which signifies contraction in the current situation indicators.
Restaurant operators reported negative same-store sales for the third consecutive month in January. Thirty-six percent of restaurant operators reported a same-store sales gain between January 2007 and January 2008, up slightly from 33 percent who reported a sales gain in December. Forty-nine percent of operators reported a same-store sales decline in January, matching the proportion who reported similarly in December. Although the Expectations Index registered a moderate gain in January, it remained below 100 for the third consecutive month. 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 99.7 in January, up 0.5 percent from its December level.
