Restaurant Capital Spending Holds Steady Jan 31, 2011

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The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) was up 1.1% from November to December, to stand at 101.0.

Restaurant operators reported relatively steady levels of capital spending activity in recent months. 41% of operators said they made a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion, or remodeling during the last three months, roughly on par with the levels reported in the previous three monthly surveys.

The RPI is a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry. December was the third time in the last four months that the RPI was above 100, signifying expansion in the index of key industry indicators. The association said the December RPI was driven by expanding same-store sales and customer traffic levels as well as growing optimism among restaurant operators.

"Driven by operators’ optimistic outlook for sales and economic conditions in the months ahead, the RPI’s Expectations Index rose to its highest level in nearly four years," said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group for the association.

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