Texas Manufacturing Survey offers advance look at state and national economies

Business tendency surveys are designed to provide more timely information on economic conditions than otherwise available. Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey variables have broad explanatory power for Texas and national economic indicators. TMOS for a given reference month is available up to a month before other Texas data are available. The survey figures appear to measure what they were intended to measure. Moreover, although TMOS was designed for--and is most useful in--understanding the Texas economy, it can also contribute to explaining national developments.