The Iowa Stock Market Index, the agricultural futures profits index, the national yield spread, the new orders index and initial unemployment insurance claims all contributed positively to the Iowa Leading Indicators Index in February, helping push the index up 0.04%.

The index increased to 108.1 in February from 108.0 in January. The monthly diffusion index decreased to 62.5 from 87.5 the previous month.

Data limitations related to the federal government shutdown continued to affect components typically included in the index, including average manufacturing hours and housing data. Those components were neutralized until the data are released and can be included in revisions.

The index was constructed to signal economic turning points with two key metrics that when seen together are considered a signal of a coming contraction: a six-month annualized change in the index below -2.0% and a six-month diffusion index below 50.0.

Over the past six months, five of the six available component indicators increased more than 0.05%. Those components include the agricultural futures profits index, the national yield spread, the Iowa Stock Market Index, the new orders index and initial unemployment insurance claims. Diesel fuel consumption decreased more than 0.05% over that period and did not contribute to the six-month diffusion index.

The Iowa Stock Market Index was the largest contributor to the index in February. During the month, 21 of the 27 companies included on the index increased in value, helping push the index to 190.32 from 182.35 in January and contributing 0.07 to the ILII.

Diesel fuel consumption was the largest detractor from the index in February. Between February 2025 and February 2026, diesel use decreased 7.3%. The 12-month moving average dropped to 65.57 million gallons in February from 65.98 million in January.

Average manufacturing hours and residential building permits each contributed 0.0 to the index as the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau have not yet released February employment and housing data due to the federal government shutdown.

The full reports are available on the Iowa Department of Revenue website.