Empire State Manufacturing Survey: Capital expenditures: Future (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally unadjusted) - United States - NY FED - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Empire State Manufacturing Survey (NY FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. According to survey data about NY-based manufacturers, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for capital expenditures (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was 10.3 in January 2026, compared to 6.9 in December 2025.
Sample. This monthly series has 295 observations. The period covered by the series extends from July 2001 to January 2026.
History. Check out a few simple statistics calculated on the whole sample: the diffusion index averaged 18.7; it reached a maximum of 42.3 in December 2003; it reached a trough of -19.1 in March 2009.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2025-11-30 | 11.5 |
| 2025-12-31 | 6.9 |
| 2026-01-31 | 10.3 |
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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 | 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) |
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