Economic Snapshot: Testing the Market's Bottom

Last month, infocomm international released its latest economic Snapshot, a regular report on how the pro AV industry feels about its financial health. The October 2009 results closely resemble those from July 2009, when AV pros acknowledged that business had fallen off. Their evaluation of the past six months using the InfoComm Performance Index indicates that on average, the industry sees its financial position as merely "fair" (better than "weak" but not yet "good," like it was in January 2009).

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Observers have been quick to point out that in the InfoComm surveys, AV pros are mostly optimistic, always seeing the next six months as significantly better than the previous six. They also note that in the past few surveys, people's forecasts haven't matched up with reality. Still, other factors such as the slowing pace of layoffs and other belt-tightening measures could bode well for 2010.