Consumer Confidence Index Falls to Nine-Month Low

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he Conference Board said Tuesday its index of consumer confidence fell to a nine-month low in November.

The index is a prognosticator of consumer spending. When people are feeling less confident about the economy, they are less likely to spend money, which decreases the demand for trucking services.

The index's reading was 90.5 in November, the lowest since February, from a revised 92.9 in October.

"With consumers' assessment of current conditions holding steadfast and intentions to spend for the holiday season up from a year ago, the outlook for retailers is mildly encouraging," Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center, said in a statement. "But looking beyond the upcoming holidays, the continuing erosion in expectations suggests consumers do not feel the economy is likely to gain major momentum in early 2005."

The board said the index of consumer expectations for the next six months fell to 87.4 from 92.2 in October. However, the gauge of optimism about the present situation rose to 95.2 from 94 last month.

The percentage of people who see jobs as hard to get rose to 28.1 from 27.9 in October, while the percentage who see fewer jobs available six months from now rose to 19.7 in November from 18.3 the prior month, the board said.