Lexon Inc. is a large manufacturer of affordable DVD players. Management recently became aware of rising expenses resulting from returns of malfunctioning products. As a starting point for further analysis, Paige Jennings, the controller, wants to test different forecasting methods and then use the best one to forecast quarterly expenses for 2019. The relevant quarterly data for the previous three years follow:

2016

Quarter Return Expenses 2017

Quarter Return Expenses 2018

Quarter Return Expenses

1 $ 13,000 1 $ 13,500 1 $ 14,000

2 11,800 2 12,700 2 12,900

3 12,100 3 12,300 3 12,700

4 14,300 4 14,700 4 15,300

The result of a simple regression analysis using all 12 data points yielded an intercept of $12,350.00 and a coefficient for the independent variable of $142.31. (R-squared = 0.22, SE = $1,012.25.)

1. Plot the data in the order of the dates