Survey finds Iowa business leaders tempering outlook on sales

Iowa business leaders tempered their optimism about their sales outlook over the next six months in the latest quarterly survey by the Iowa Business Council.

The council's 2nd quarter Overall Economic Outlook Survey Index (OSI) fell over a point from the previous quarterly survey to 65.3 from 66.7.

In the survey formula, a Outlook Survey Index of 50 indicates that the business sentiment of all survey participants is average. Scores below 50 indicate negative sentiment and those above 50 indicate positive sentiment.

Of the three subindexes that make the OSI, the biggest change was in the Sales OSI. It fell six points from 75 last quarter to 69. Ninety-five percent of the CEOs expect steady or increased sales over the next six months, while only five percent of survey respondents expect sales to decrease.

"The pace of business activity has been slightly tempered by volatility in oil prices, renewed fiscal instability within the European Union and the space of recent natural disasters worldwide," said council chair Tom Aller.

Aller, president of Interstate Power & Light, said the overall sentiment of the Economic Outlook Survey index remains positive, and indicates leaders remain hopeful and confident about a strong second half in 2011.

The subindexes for employment and capital spending moved slightly higher in the quarterly survey, The Capital Spending OSI moved up one point from 63 to 65. The employment OSI moved one point higher from 62 to 63.

All of the council's second quarter survey indices were higher than a year earlier.