Empire State Manufacturing Survey: Capital expenditures: Future (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally adjusted) - United States - NY FED - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Empire State Manufacturing Survey (NY FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. Based on a sample of manufacturing firms surveyd by the FED, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for capital expenditures (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was 16.5 in August 2026, compared to 15.0 in the previous month.
Sample. This monthly series has a total of 302 data points. The series covers the time period extending from July 2001 to August 2026.
History. Have a look at a few descriptive statistics calculated on the entire sample: the diffusion index averaged 18.7; it hit a trough of -19.1 in March 2009; it recorded its maximum of 42.3 in December 2003.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | 10.9 |
| 2026-07-31 | 15.0 |
| 2026-08-31 | 16.5 |
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Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Will capital expenditures increase or decrease over the next six months? |
| Country | United States |
| Economic concept | Business survey response |
| Data type | Leading indicator of the business cycle |
| Deflation method | Not applicable |
| Seasonally adjusted | Yes |
| 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.