Story update 2/2/2012: We inadvertently used the wrong graphic for the Third Estimates. This has been fixed.

This is part three in a series where we assess what information we can obtain from the various estimates of quarterly GDP growth using statistical analysis and a control chart. Read part one here and part two here.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has announced that the gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an estimated 2.8 percent for the fourth quarter of 2011. This is up from 1.8 in the third quarter. Can we draw any conclusions from this change?

Before we can answer that, we need to assess the early estimates using an I-MR chart, like we did for the latest gold-standard estimates.

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