The Yearly Sales (In Millions of Dollars) of an Automobile

Essay

The yearly sales (in millions of dollars) of an automobile manufacturing company during the period 2000-2011 are given below. $$\begin{array} { | c | c | } \hline \text { Year } & \text { Sales (\$millions) } \boldsymbol { y } \\\hline 2000 & 470 \\\hline 2001 & 485 \\\hline 2002 & 499 \\\hline 2003 & 515 \\\hline 2004 & 532 \\\hline 2005 & 532 \\\hline 2006 & 556 \\\hline 2007 & 576 \\\hline 2008 & 583 \\\hline 2009 & 587 \\\hline 2010 & 601 \\\hline 2011 & 605 \\\hline\end{array}$$
a. Construct a time series plot. What type of pattern exists in the data?
b. Use simple linear regression analysis to find the parameters for the line that minimizes MSE for this time series.
c. What is the sales forecast (in millions of dollars) for the year 2012?