Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey: Unfilled orders: Future (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally adjusted) - 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 firms' responses to the Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey carried out by the Philadelphia FED, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for unfilled orders (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was 15.3 in March 2026, compared to 21.4 in February 2026.
Sample. In this monthly time series, there are 695 records. The series covers the time range going from May 1968 to March 2026.
History. Check out a few simple statistics we calculated on the whole sample: the diffusion index averaged 8.8; it reached a minimum of -41.5 in December 1973; it recorded its maximum of 58.4 in June 1983.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-01-31 | 6.6 |
| 2026-02-28 | 21.4 |
| 2026-03-31 | 15.3 |
Tip. One of the advantages of our web site is that we publish complete metadata. Find it below to better understand the attributes of the time series that you analyze.
Not for investment purposes. Data and analyses published on this web site are not not supposed to be used for investment purposes or other financial decisions. Users should consult expert advice and perform independent analysis before making any financial commitments.
Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Will unfilled orders 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 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.