Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey: General business activity: Current (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally unadjusted) - United States - Philly FED - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey (Philly FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. Based on a sample of manufacturing firms surveyd by the FED, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for general business activity (share of CEOs seeing a recent increase minus share reporting a decrease) was 34.5 in March 2026, compared to 22.2 in February.
Sample. There are 695 data points in the monthly time series shown in the figure above. The series covers the time period going from May 1968 to March 2026.
History. Check out a few descriptive statistics we computed on the full sample: the diffusion index had a mean of 8.8; it recorded its highest level of 67.0 in March 1973; it registered a minimum of -76.0 in December 1974.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-01-31 | 17.9 |
| 2026-02-28 | 22.2 |
| 2026-03-31 | 34.5 |
Nugget of wisdom. Our metadata often contain references to the original sources of the data series we publish. You can use these references to search for additional information needed in your analyses.
Not for investment purposes. Any financial data available on this web site are not meant for investment purposes or as a basis for making financial decisions. Users should consult professional advice and do independent analysis before taking any financial risk.
Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Did general business activity increase or decrease in the past month? |
| Country | United States |
| Economic concept | Business survey response |
| Data type | Coincident indicator of the business cycle |
| Deflation method | Not applicable |
| Seasonally adjusted | No |
| Rescaling | None |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Unit | Percentage points |
| Source | Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia |
| Source type | Central bank |
| Data licence | Not copyrightable under U.S. law |
| 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.