Table 8
 DIFFUSION INDEXES OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
 Percent
 
 Year       Jan.    Feb.    Mar.    Apr.     May    June    July    Aug.   Sept.    Oct.    Nov.    Dec.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 One Month Earlier
  1996     38.8    64.9    56.0    56.3    60.1    62.3    52.6    58.2    53.4    54.1    55.2    56.7 
  1997     53.4    65.7    53.7    51.3    53.7    56.3    58.8    49.8    55.6    55.8    61.4    50.9 
  1998     55.8    47.2    50.2    53.7    49.1    39.3    54.7    46.8    39.0    51.3 
 
 Three Months Earlier
  1996     44.0    54.9    55.2    67.5    66.4    67.2    61.9    60.8    56.0    59.0    56.7    57.1 
  1997     58.2    65.7    59.0    62.7    54.9    55.6    60.2    60.9    59.0    58.1    65.5    63.7 
  1998     59.6    52.1    54.3    49.1    55.4    44.2    46.8    44.6    45.7    45.7 
 
 Six Months Earlier
  1996     52.6    53.7    57.5    57.8    65.3    71.3    69.8    66.4    63.8    67.5    64.2    56.3 
  1997     65.3    65.7    63.8    61.6    58.4    62.7    67.3    62.8    63.5    66.9    68.8    65.0 
  1998     63.7    63.3    61.0    58.1    56.6    48.3    46.8    46.4    43.3    44.9 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Note:  The diffusion indexes are calculated as the percentage of series that increased over the indicated
        span (one, three, or six months) plus one-half the percentage that were unchanged.