ARLINGTON, Va. - The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) released the February results of the Contractor Comfort Index (CCI), an economic indicator. Looking to the near-term future, contractors report having conservatively favorable prospects, resulting in a CCI of 55.

“While many contractors are benefiting from energy efficiency initiatives and slightly improving consumer confidence, this CCI number of just barely into the growth arena reflects that there are still many challenges to resolve in the marketplace,” said Stan Johnson, ACCA’s chairman of the board. “We’re moving in the right direction, but there’s no doubt contractors are still operating in a recovery environment.”

There are many economic indicators available in the marketplace, but ACCA set out to create one that is specific to HVACR contractors’ businesses. The index gauges how contractors are feeling about new business prospects, existing business activity, and expected staffing decisions. Averaged into one useful number, a CCI rating higher than 50 reflects anticipated growth and one lower than 50 indicates expected contraction in the marketplace.

The CCI is a forward-looking index that aims to gauge how contractors are feeling about their business for the short-term future. Based on a three-component survey completed monthly by ACCA contractor members, the CCI is a benchmark for contractors to compare their comfort levels with that of the industry average.

“Though this is a new tool, the CCI will continue to grow into an increasingly powerful resource that tracks movement of contractors’ sentiment over time,” said Paul Stalknecht, president and CEO of ACCA. “The standalone number this month shows us that contractors expect slight growth in the coming weeks and months, but comparing this comfort level from month-to-month, and eventually year-to-year, will help us better understand and respond to the cyclical nature of the HVACR contracting business.”

The CCI will be released monthly in the week preceding the start of a new month. The next CCI number will be released the week of March 29.

For more information, visit www.acca.org.

Publication date: 03/15/2010