Firm-Level Planning Frequencies and Forecast Horizons

We elicit new information about planning frequencies and forecast horizons from a survey of 500 US firms conducted in August 2018 and again in April-May 2021. Most firms update capital investment plans yearly, while updating plans for employment, prices and sales at monthly or quarterly intervals. Around one third of firms, mostly smaller ones, report having no formal plans. The most common forecast horizon for own-firm outcomes is one year ahead, with significant variation across firms. Planning frequencies and forecast horizons are extremely similar before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which suggests they are rather insensitive to external economic conditions.