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. According to survey data about manufacturers based in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for unfilled orders (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) stood at 16.8 in September 2026, compared to 8.5 in August.
Sample. There are 701 observations in the monthly time series shown in the chart above. The series covers the time period extending from May 1968 to September 2026.
History. Check out a few statistics computed on the entire sample: the diffusion index had a mean of 8.8; it hit a trough of -41.5 in December 1973; it reached its maximum of 58.4 in June 1983.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | 20.9000 |
| 2026-08-31 | 8.50000 |
| 2026-09-30 | 16.8000 |
Hint. We organize indicators into worksheets and datasets to simplify research. Scrolling downwards, you will discover how we arranged further material related to the statistics published here.
Not for investment purposes. Data and any other information hosted on this web site are not supposed to be used for investment purposes or as a basis for making financial decisions. Users should seek 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.