For immediate release
Contact: Daneil Mazone, Media Relations Representative, 215-574-7163
Philadelphia — In January of each year, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia revises historical data for the Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey after calculating new seasonal adjustment factors. Because survey responses are characterized by seasonal patterns, new seasonal factors are calculated annually based on the addition of a complete year of data.
While this year’s revisions altered levels of the indexes for most months, the general pattern of month-to-month change in most series was similar. For the final two months of 2017, the current activity index was revised upward from its previously reported readings. For November 2017, the current activity index was revised upward slightly to 24.3 from the previously reported reading of 22.7. For December 2017, the index was revised upward from 26.2 to 27.9.
Revised historical data for all series can be retrieved from the historical data page.
A summary of 2017 revisions only (46 KB) is also available.
The next scheduled release for the Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey is at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 18, 2018.