American CFOs fear a recession by the third quarter of next year, according to the latest Duke CFO Global Business Outlook Survey.

The survey generated responses from more than 1,500 chief financial officers, including 469 from North America, and showed that 67% of those surveyed predicted the U.S. economy would be in recession by the third quarter of 2020, and 84% believe a recession will have begun by the first quarter of 2021. 38% of respondents predicted a recession by the first quarter of next year.

John Graham, director of the survey, told that while CFOs are not as pessimistic as they were three months ago, it is unusual in the history of the survey for such a large share of respondents to predict a recession just 16 months from now. ”The recession predictions are closer than usual, with a greater magnitude” of respondents indicating recession fears, Graham said.