Increase in same-store sales helps buoy the Restaurant Performance Index.

The National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Performance Index totaled 102.7 in January. Scores in excess of 100 indicate a period of expansion for the restaurant industry.

"A solid majority of restaurant operators reported higher same-store sales and customer traffic in January, which helped keep the RPI well into positive territory," said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group for the Association. "In addition, nearly six in 10 operators expect their business to improve in the next six months, with plans for capital expenditures also continuing at a high level."

The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators (same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures), stood at 102.7 in January – down slightly from a level of 102.9 in December. Key data points from the Current Situation Index include:

• Seventy percent of restaurant operators reported a same-store sales gain between January 2014 and January 2015. Only 17 percent of operators reported a same-store sales decline in January.
• Sixty-six percent of restaurant operators reported an increase in customer traffic between January 2014 and January 2015. Twenty-one percent of operators said their traffic declined in January, down slightly from 23 percent who reported similarly in December.
• Fifty-one percent of operators said they made a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling during the last three months.

The Expectations Index, which measures restaurant operators' six-month outlook for four industry indicators (same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions), stood at 102.8 in January — essentially unchanged from the previous two months. Key data points from the Expectations Index include:

• Fifty-seven percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared to the same period in the previous year), up from 52 percent who reported similarly last month.
• Thirty-five percent of restaurant operators said they expect economic conditions to improve in six months, down slightly from 37 percent last month.
• Fifty-seven percent of restaurant operators plan to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months, down slightly from 62 percent who reported similarly last month.