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Jack Fullwood of Cenwood Appliance Distributors, 1217 Ridgeway Road, shows shopper Jane Ricketts various kitchen designs.
The phone is ringing again at Cenwood Appliance Distributors.
The economy, says Nelson Waller, Cenwood’s designer in charge of remodeling, is “definitely starting to burrow its way out.”
“We just noticed things increasing. … Getting a lot more traffic in the door,” Waller said of the showroom at 1217 Ridgeway.
Cenwood’s experience reflects the April SurveyMemphis, in which Memphis business leaders continued to express positive vibes about the economy.
Until recently, the survey dished out month after month of negative feedback from business leaders.
But in the April edition, local business leaders were positive in 12 of the 16 categories. It’s the third straight month of a mostly positive survey.
The Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Memphis measures the forward-looking sentiment of local business leaders.
“We’re starting to see a whole lot more signs of recovery,” said U of M associate professor Jeff Wallace.
“Doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods yet, but means we’re heading in the right direction.”
Just Thursday, Global Port Tracker reported that import cargo volume at major retail container ports in the U.S. is expected to rise 10 percent in May. The improving economy is expected to bring double-digit increases into the fall, the service reported.
“Optimism is rising in both the local and national economies as reflected in forward-looking sentiment in the survey responses,” the SurveyMemphis April report states.
The positive responses coincide with rising consumer confidence reported by The Conference Board on April 27. Consumer confidence rose for the second straight month after having fallen to its lowest level in 27 years in February, the survey states.
Home sales are rising too.
Residential sales in March rose 26.9 percent over February and 23.8 percent over March 2009.
Unemployment is still high. If jobs return at the same pace following the last recession in 2001, five years may pass before all the jobs are regained, Wallace said.
The recession started in December 2007.
Despite the good news, the recession isn’t over until National Bureau of Economic Research says it is. “You don’t want to be premature,” Wallace added.
The nation’s recovering, but it was in a deep economic hole that it’s yet to climb out of, he said.
– Tom Bailey Jr.: 529-2388
SurveyMemphis
The University of Memphis Sparks Bureau of Economic Research surveys business leaders each month about their forward-looking sentiment in 16 sectors of the economy. Values of 1-100 are assigned to the responses, with over 50 being positive and under 50 being negative.
March / April
National outlook: 68.9 / 76.7
Local outlook: 52.7 / 53.3
General business conditions: 64.9 / 68.3
General business conditions outlook: 85.2 / 85.4
Employment: 52.8 / 56.9
Gross sales: 62.5 / 58.9
Shipping volume: 52.5 / 64.3
Business travel: 53.0 / 58.0
Current energy costs: 32.9 / 35.7
Energy costs outlook: 27.8 / 24.1
Current credit conditions: 13.5 / 20.7
Credit conditions outlook: 61.1 / 63.0
Current local residential real estate: 50.0 / 66.1
Local residential real estate outlook: 67.6 / 70.4
Current local commercial real estate: 36.4 / 40.7
Local commercial real estate outlook: 51.5 / 51.8
Source: Sparks Bureau of Business and Economic Research, University of Memphis
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