The purpose of the report is to help give a more timely snapshot of our nations economic activity. The U.S. Census Bureau advises users to use these advance estimates in conjunction with the revised estimates that are released at a later date.
How was it made possible for this data to be released earlier?In an attempt to provide a more timely picture of economic activity, we assessed the quality of the international trade data and the retail and wholesale inventories at an earlier point in the processing period. For international trade, research concluded that there was a sufficient amount of export and import records collected in time for an earlier release. For retail and wholesale inventories, it was found that the estimates at selected levels at this earlier date were a good predictor of the estimates released in the full report. Thus, an early snapshot of this indicator information at selected levels could be made public using the same methodology.
Are there any plans to publish more detailed retail, wholesale or international trade data in the Advance Economic Indicators Report?At this time, there are no plans to publish data at more detailed levels than those currently in the report.
Are there plans to add additional indicators to the Advance Economic Indicators Report?We are currently exploring the possibility of adding additional indicator data to this release.
How frequently will the Advance Economic Indicators Report be published?The Advance Economic Indicators Report will be published monthly.
Will any historical time series data be available in the Advance Economic Indicators Report?No historical time series data will be included in the Advance Economic Indicators Report.
When will the Advance Economic Indicators Report be published?The Report will be released at 8:30 AM. The release schedule for the Advance Economic Indicators Report can be found at Complete Release Schedule.
Who benefits from the Advance Economic Indicators Report?Private sector data users and other government agencies will both benefit from an earlier release of U.S. trade, retail, and wholesale data. The Advance Report allows policymakers and private data users to make data-driven decisions sooner due to this high-level “snapshot” of economic data. In addition, the release will also allow the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to incorporate export and import data, and retail and wholesale inventories from the third month of a quarter into the advance quarterly estimate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), thereby producing a more complete quarterly estimate. The advance GDP estimate offers the first glimpse of the broadest measure of how the U.S. economy is performing for any given quarter.
How was the decision reached to release the inventories data earlier?Initially, the question was raised about producing advance inventories estimates to improve the quality of the Advance Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). We embarked on a two year research project to evaluate the quality of the retail and wholesale inventories estimates at various publication levels during this earlier period of the processing month. This evaluation uncovered certain aggregate and industry levels that produced good estimates at this earlier date.
What is the overall goal of the effort?The overall goal of this effort is to provide more timely estimates for use by all data users and to help the BEA produce the highest quality measures of GDP possible.
The Advance Economic Indicators Report will contain seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted export and import goods data by 1-digit end-use categories and balance totals. The Advance Economic Indicators Report will not include services or trade in goods on a balance of payments basis. It will contain the current month, the prior two months, and the current month in the prior year. For example, for the statistical month of June 2016, the report will contain June 2016, May 2016, April 2016, and June 2015.
When will the Advance Report be published in relation to the full FT-900: U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services?The Advance Economic Indicators Report will be published approximately 25 to 29 calendar days after the end of the reference month, while the FT-900: U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services is published approximately 35 days after the end of the reference month.
Will any country information be included in the Advance Economic Indicators Report?No, there will be no country information included in the Advance Economic Indicators Report.
The Advance Economic Indicators Report will contain seasonally adjusted and not adjusted inventories data at the total retail, total retail excluding motor vehicles and parts dealers, and motor vehicle and parts dealers levels. It will contain the current month, the prior month, and the current month in the prior year. For example, for the statistical month of June 2016, the report will contain June 2016, May 2016, and June 2015.
When will the Advance Economic Indicators Report be published in relation to the Monthly Retail Trade Survey?The Advance Economic Indicators Report will be released 25 to 29 calendar days after the close of the reference month, while the Monthly Retail Trade Survey is published approximately 45 calendar days after the end of the reference month.
What retail data will be revised in the Advance Economic Indicators Report?The Advance Economic Indicators Report will include revised prior month and current month in the prior year estimates. For example, for the statistical month of June 2016, the report will contain revised May 2016 and June 2015 data.
Will any retail sales data be included in the Advance Economic Indicators Report?No, the Advance Economic Indicators Report will only include retail inventories data; however, the Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services Report will continue to be released as scheduled prior to this release.
The Advance Economic Indicators Report will contain seasonally adjusted and not adjusted inventories data at the total merchant wholesale inventories (excluding manufacturers’ sales branches and offices), total durable, and total nondurable goods. It will contain the current month, prior month, and the current month in the prior year. For example, for the statistical month of June 2016, the report will contain June 2016, May 2016, and June 2015.
When will the Advance Economic Indicators Report be published in relation to the Monthly Wholesale Trade release?The Advance Economic Indicators Report will be released 25 to 29 calendar days after the close of the reference month, while the Monthly Wholesale Trade Report is published approximately 40 calendar days after the reference month.
What wholesale data will be revised in the Advance Economic Indicators Report?The Advance Economic Indicators Report will include revised prior month and current month in the prior year estimates. For example, for the statistical month of June 2016, the report will contain revised May 2016 and June 2015 data.
Will any wholesale sales data be included in the Advance Economic Indicators Report?No, at this time, the Advance Economic Indicators Report will only include wholesale inventories data.
