Business Leaders Survey: Capital spending: Future (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally unadjusted) - United States - NY FED - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Business Leaders Survey (NY FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. Based on a sample of service firms surveyed by the Fed, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for capital spending (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was -2.9 in October 2026, versus 1.1 in September 2026.
Sample. This monthly time series has a total of 266 records. The time range covered by the series is from September 2004 to October 2026.
History. Here are a few statistics computed on the entire sample: the diffusion index had a mean of 14.5; it attained a maximum of 49.2 in September 2004; it reached its minimum of -41.3 in April 2020.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-31 | 4.40000 |
| 2026-09-30 | 1.10000 |
| 2026-10-31 | -2.90000 |
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Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Over the next six months do you expect capital investment spending to increase or decrease? |
| Country | United States |
| Economic concept | Business survey response |
| Data type | Leading indicator of the business cycle |
| Deflation method | Not applicable |
| Seasonally adjusted | No |
| Rescaling | None |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Unit | Percentage points |
| Source | Federal Reserve Bank of New York |
| Source type | Central bank |
| Data licence | Free use subject to conditions |
| Measure type | Diffusion index (share of respondents reporting an increase minus share reporting a decrease) |
Series in the same data set
Discover the other time series included in this data set.
Current conditions SA
| Series Name | Observations | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Leaders Survey: Wages: Current (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally adjusted) - United States - NY FED - Monthly | 266 | 2004-09-30 | 2026-10-31 |
Future conditions SA
| Series Name | Observations | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Leaders Survey: Wages: Future (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally adjusted) - United States - NY FED - Monthly | 266 | 2004-09-30 | 2026-10-31 |