For the tenth consecutive month, the EBCI current conditions component topped 50 points, indicating conditions conducive to growth. March's reading of 80 built on an already robust 64.3 in February and was driven by two-thirds of survey respondents' indicating better conditions. Fewer than 10 percent noted worse conditions while the remainder saw things as unchanged. Electroindustry shipments and new orders data reported by the Census Bureau buttressed this result as both have grown rapidly in the two most recent monthly reports. Some panelists pointed to slower or delayed activity, but most noted improvements in the economic environment and on the pandemic front.

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