Large number of operators made capital expenditures during last three months.

August 14, 2018

1 Min Read
Restaurant performance index up, but operator outlook softens

The National Restaurant Assn.’s (NRA) Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) for June showed improvements in same-store sales and customer traffic, but the operator outlook for the longer term remains softened, said Hudson Riehle, NRA senior vice president of research.

According to Riehle, the June RPI was at 101.6, an increase of 0.5% from the May level of 101.2.

Expectations for the future definitely remain dampened, Riehle said.

According to the latest data, economic and industry highlights for June included adding 16,400 jobs -- for a total of 221,000 over the past year. In addition, the industry’s employment growth rate was 1.9%, which is above the national employment growth rate of 1.6%.

NRA reported that over the past three months, 75% of operators made a capital expenditure, such as remodeling their restaurant or purchasing new equipment. Another 58% said they expect to make a capital expenditure within the next six months.

Food price inflation

The wholesale food price inflation index edged downward and increased at a 0.5% rate year to date through June. This compares to a 1.7% annual increase in 2017. Prices of some commodities, including eggs, beef, citrus and potatoes, increased on a year-to-date-basis, while others declined, NRA reported.

These price changes included:

  • Fresh vegetables, down 14%;

  • Poultry, down 5%;

  • Pork, down 3%, and

  • Cheese, down 2%.

Overall inflation continued to rise, advancing at a 2.5% rate year to date through June.

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