by Calculated Risk on 7/31/2011 08:15:00 AM

From the National Restaurant Association: Restaurant Industry Outlook Strengthened in June as Restaurant Performance Index Rose Above 100

Driven by stronger same-store sales and traffic levels and a more optimistic outlook among restaurant operators, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) rose above 100 in June. The RPI – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 100.6 in June, up 0.8 percent from May’s level of 99.9. In addition, June represented the sixth time in the last seven months that the RPI stood above 100, which signifies expansion in the index of key industry indicators.

“The RPI’s solid improvement in June was due in large part to stronger same-store sales and customer traffic performances, which bounced back from their May declines,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group for the Association. “In addition, restaurant operators are optimistic that their sales environment will improve in the months ahead, while their outlook for capital spending also remains strong.”
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Restaurant operators reported stronger same-store sales results in June. ... Restaurant operators also reported improving customer traffic levels in June.

Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.

The index increased to 100.6 in June (above 100 indicates expansion).

Unfortunately the data for this index only goes back to 2002.

This is a minor report (barely "D-List" data), but I'd expect discretionary spending to slow sharply if consumers become really worried - and that doesn't seem to be happening.