Forecasting
Forecasting (or prediction) refers to the
process of generating future values of a particular variable (or
variables) using some statistical procedure.
Examples:
1. Within the firm
- sales for the next 6 months.
- levels of inventories for the next 5 weeks.
2. The economy
- the level of activity at the state or
national levels. For instance, the unemployment rate, or the
level of capacity utilization.
- the price of critical inputs (labor, fuel)