The manager of the Petroco Service Station wants to forecast the demand for unleaded gasoline next month so that the proper number of gallons can be ordered from the distributor. The owner has accumulated the following data on demand for unleaded gasoline from sales during the past 10 months:

Month Gasoline Demanded (gal.)

October 800 November 725 December 630 January 500 February 645 March 690 April 730 May 810 June 1,200 July 980

a. Compute an exponentially smoothed forecast, using an a value of .30.

b. Compute an adjusted exponentially smoothed forecast (with a = .30 and b = .20).

c. Compare the two forecasts by using MAPD and indicate which seems to be more accurate. LO.1