Saturday, October 30, 2010

Restaurant Performance Index Rises Above 100 For 1st Time in 5 Mos., Current Index Highest in 3 Yrs.

"Driven by improving same-store sales and customer traffic levels as well as growing optimism among restaurant operators, the outlook for the restaurant industry improved in September. The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 100.3 in September, up a solid 0.8 percent from its August level (see chart above). In addition, the RPI rose above 100 for the first time in five months, which signifies expansion in the index of key industry indicators.

The RPI’s solid gain in September was the result of broad-based improvements among both the current situation and forward-looking indicators. Restaurant operators reported positive same-store sales and customer traffic levels for the first time in six months, which propelled the RPI’s Current Situation Index to its highest level in nearly three years."

MP: On a year-over-year basis, the RPI increased by 2.87% in September, the highest annual increase in at least four years (see bottom chart above). 

3 Comments:

At 10/31/2010 12:30 PM, Blogger Buddy R Pacifico said...

One has to wonder if part of the increase is due to food price increases. If restuarants have pricing power to pass on to customers then inflation is returning. Better business makes necessry price increases easier for restuarants.

 
At 11/01/2010 8:29 AM, Blogger morganovich said...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans slowed their spending in September to the weakest pace in three months and their incomes fell for the first time in 14 months.

Personal spending rose at an annual rate of 0.2 percent in September, the Commerce Department said Monday. That's below the 0.5 percent gains recorded in July and August.

Incomes fell 0.1 percent in September, following a 0.4 percent rise in August that had been pushed higher by the return of extended unemployment benefits.

one also might wonder how this trend may impact restaurant sales.

regarding pricing, it's certainly galloping up in san francisco, but we're such a weird and expensive market that i hesitate to extrapolate too much from us.

 
At 11/01/2010 12:05 PM, Blogger James said...

One of the reasons restaurants are doing so well is that the bad economy is supplying them with low cost high skill labor. 13 percent of waters and waitresses, 16 percent of bartenders, 13 percent of parking lot attendants, and 7 percent of food preparation workers have at least a Bachelors degree.

 

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