US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index
US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index tracks Fifth District factory activity, shipments, and orders.
| Indicator | 09-2026 | 08-2026 | 07-2026 | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | 11-2025 | 10-2025 | 09-2025 | 08-2025 | 07-2025 | 06-2025 | 05-2025 | 04-2025 | 03-2025 | 02-2025 | 01-2025 | 12-2024 | 11-2024 | 10-2024 | 09-2024 | 08-2024 | 07-2024 | 06-2024 | 05-2024 | 04-2024 | 03-2024 | 02-2024 | 01-2024 | 12-2023 | 11-2023 | 10-2023 | 09-2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CURRENT CONDITIONS15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturing Index | -2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 1 | -8 | -7 | -6 | -13 | -5 | -12 | -8 | -17 | -10 | -16 | -14 | -7 | 6 | -6 | -9 | -11 | -12 | -17 | -19 | -13 | -13 | -3 | -7 | -14 | -8 | -12 | -10 | -6 | 3 | 3 | |
| Shipments | -5 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 11 | -2 | 0 | -11 | -6 | -10 | -12 | -1 | -13 | -8 | -14 | -9 | -16 | -15 | -8 | 14 | -12 | -9 | -8 | -10 | -15 | -17 | -14 | -14 | 7 | -6 | -18 | -12 | -10 | -15 | -11 | 7 | 3 | |
| New Orders | -6 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 5 | -8 | -7 | -6 | -20 | -5 | -11 | -8 | -20 | -14 | -21 | -18 | -8 | -2 | -5 | -9 | -16 | -14 | -20 | -26 | -16 | -19 | -8 | -10 | -19 | -10 | -12 | -13 | -7 | -2 | -1 | |
| Backlog of Orders | -10 | -7 | 4 | 3 | 4 | -2 | -8 | -15 | -13 | -7 | -19 | -18 | -18 | -12 | -26 | -20 | -23 | -23 | -9 | -8 | -6 | -12 | -21 | -13 | -17 | -25 | -16 | -25 | -19 | -17 | -28 | -17 | -22 | -19 | -22 | -16 | -13 | |
| Capacity Utilization | -7 | 2 | 2 | -1 | -3 | 3 | -5 | -11 | -7 | -10 | -17 | -11 | -14 | -1 | -13 | -7 | -6 | -9 | -10 | -4 | -6 | -7 | -11 | -10 | -19 | -17 | -10 | -11 | -10 | -4 | -18 | -5 | -23 | -9 | -6 | -6 | 2 | |
| Vendor Lead Time | 8 | 16 | 17 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | -1 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 17 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | -1 | -3 | 0 | -4 | -10 | -8 | -18 | 2 | -5 | -4 | -6 | -11 | -21 | |
| Number of Employees | 7 | -2 | 2 | -1 | 1 | -1 | -2 | -6 | -7 | -1 | -5 | -9 | -12 | -8 | -15 | -6 | -7 | -8 | -3 | 8 | -1 | -8 | -7 | -11 | -16 | -11 | -6 | -4 | -9 | -3 | -2 | 1 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | |
| Wages | 17 | 26 | 28 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 24 | 25 | 16 | 15 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 13 | 17 | 23 | 22 | 26 | 20 | 25 | 27 | 24 | |
| Finished Goods Inventories | 4 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 24 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 9 | 25 | 17 | 23 | 15 | 20 | 21 | 14 | |
| Raw Materials Inventories | 6 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 27 | 15 | 16 | 21 | 17 | 24 | 18 | 22 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 10 | 17 | 11 | 25 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 16 | |
| Local Business Conditions | -6 | 4 | 10 | -1 | 0 | 7 | -3 | -13 | -8 | -9 | -20 | -2 | -10 | -2 | -11 | -16 | -27 | -24 | -14 | -4 | -7 | -3 | -14 | -12 | -17 | -22 | -17 | -11 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 0 | -7 | -14 | -15 | -6 | -2 | |
| Availability of Needed Skills | -11 | -13 | -12 | -12 | -5 | -5 | -12 | -14 | -16 | -7 | -1 | -8 | -4 | -13 | 1 | -7 | 3 | -3 | -1 | 2 | -5 | -3 | -5 | -5 | -3 | -1 | -5 | 2 | -2 | -3 | -2 | -3 | -2 | -1 | 6 | -2 | -10 | |
| Capital Expenditures | -7 | -5 | 0 | -8 | -1 | -11 | -6 | -7 | -18 | -1 | -5 | -6 | -13 | -19 | -15 | -14 | -14 | -7 | -10 | -6 | -2 | -7 | 0 | -14 | -11 | -9 | -7 | 2 | -7 | -3 | -9 | -7 | -2 | -3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | |
| Spending on Equipment and Software | -4 | 0 | -5 | -2 | -1 | -7 | -8 | -8 | -13 | 2 | -7 | -9 | -9 | -14 | -12 | -12 | -7 | -7 | -3 | -2 | -2 | -11 | -2 | -16 | -11 | -9 | -10 | -4 | -9 | -3 | -6 | -3 | -1 | -1 | -5 | 1 | 3 | |
| Spending on Business Services | -10 | -13 | -8 | -11 | -10 | -9 | -13 | -20 | -16 | -11 | -11 | -22 | -16 | -18 | -17 | -21 | -18 | -19 | -17 | -8 | -10 | -14 | -17 | -17 | -16 | -12 | -14 | -8 | -17 | -9 | -14 | -12 | -11 | -3 | -1 | -10 | -7 | |
| EXPECTATIONS 6 MONTHS AHEAD14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shipments | 33 | 26 | 33 | 36 | 34 | 24 | 26 | 29 | 33 | 26 | 24 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 5 | 4 | -16 | 6 | 12 | 26 | 32 | 28 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 25 | 35 | 17 | 20 | 9 | 8 | -2 | 15 | 14 | |
| New Orders | 32 | 32 | 31 | 33 | 34 | 30 | 30 | 34 | 35 | 25 | 25 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 7 | -1 | -20 | 6 | 2 | 23 | 35 | 31 | 32 | 16 | 17 | 22 | 23 | 28 | 33 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 19 | |
| Backlog of Orders | 2 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | -12 | -5 | -9 | -7 | -17 | -25 | -27 | -8 | -1 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 6 | -2 | -10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -4 | -7 | -12 | -14 | -18 | -11 | -11 | |
| Capacity Utilization | 15 | 14 | 19 | 25 | 29 | 12 | 18 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 3 | -3 | 3 | 10 | -1 | 1 | -5 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 14 | |
| Vendor Lead Time | 5 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 1 | -2 | -2 | -8 | -12 | -6 | -16 | -1 | -7 | -12 | -14 | -13 | -15 | |
| Number of Employees | 8 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -7 | -5 | -6 | -17 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 7 | -2 | 4 | -8 | -4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 13 | 19 | |
| Wages | 50 | 42 | 50 | 45 | 51 | 45 | 41 | 45 | 39 | 45 | 38 | 38 | 48 | 46 | 44 | 44 | 40 | 41 | 40 | 38 | 42 | 41 | 48 | 45 | 37 | 41 | 45 | 49 | 44 | 44 | 45 | 45 | 48 | 44 | 48 | 45 | 39 | |
| Finished Goods Inventories | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 0 | -10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 6 | |
| Raw Materials Inventories | -1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 3 | -2 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 11 | |
| Local Business Conditions | 10 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 15 | 5 | 18 | 21 | 18 | 16 | -2 | -5 | 3 | -4 | -3 | -7 | -4 | -31 | -14 | -1 | 26 | 36 | 19 | 16 | 0 | -14 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 15 | 2 | -4 | -6 | -9 | -4 | 7 | |
| Availability of Needed Skills | -9 | -5 | -10 | -8 | 0 | -5 | -2 | -7 | -8 | -5 | -4 | 3 | -2 | -11 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 0 | -1 | 5 | -3 | -1 | -2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | -5 | 0 | -3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | |
| Capital Expenditures | -1 | 4 | -6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | -5 | -9 | -4 | 3 | -10 | -12 | -16 | -18 | -15 | -16 | -3 | 1 | 0 | -5 | -10 | -1 | 0 | -4 | 7 | 2 | 3 | -1 | -1 | -5 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 11 | |
| Spending on Equipment and Software | -5 | 2 | -5 | 7 | 3 | -3 | -2 | 1 | -4 | -2 | -3 | -7 | -7 | -15 | -17 | -16 | -11 | -17 | -8 | -2 | -2 | -13 | -10 | -7 | -9 | -6 | 1 | -2 | -6 | 3 | 0 | -3 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 9 | |
| Spending on Business Services | -18 | -10 | -15 | -6 | -9 | -10 | -10 | -15 | -11 | -13 | -7 | -15 | -21 | -21 | -19 | -22 | -24 | -27 | -23 | -9 | -7 | -6 | -16 | -14 | -9 | -12 | -10 | -9 | -12 | -12 | -16 | -16 | -12 | -11 | -7 | -7 | -8 | |
| PRICE CHANGES (annualized %)4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prices Received — Current | 4.19 | 4.09 | 3.96 | 4.57 | 4.21 | 4.73 | 4.85 | 4.25 | 4.58 | 4.98 | 3.09 | 3.04 | 4.02 | 3.14 | 3.16 | 3.57 | 2.73 | 2.65 | 2.34 | 1.62 | 1.21 | 1.71 | 2.07 | 1.71 | 1.57 | 1.87 | 1.31 | 2.35 | 1.55 | 2.27 | 2.07 | 2.64 | 2.59 | 2.98 | 2.2 | 2.44 | 3.41 | |
| Prices Received — 6-Month Expectation | 3.84 | 3.69 | 3.75 | 4.49 | 4.34 | 4.2 | 3.55 | 3.81 | 4.54 | 4.52 | 3.29 | 3.63 | 4.74 | 4.11 | 4.19 | 3.91 | 4.84 | 5.63 | 4 | 3.19 | 3.06 | 2.91 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 1.96 | 1.62 | 1.29 | 2.14 | 2.38 | 2.4 | 2.12 | 2.44 | 1.59 | 2.33 | 2.08 | 2.12 | 2.39 | |
| Prices Paid — Current | 7.08 | 6.22 | 6.08 | 6.99 | 5.96 | 6.4 | 6.11 | 6.52 | 7.06 | 6.53 | 6.84 | 5.81 | 7.22 | 7.24 | 5.65 | 6.1 | 5.35 | 5.37 | 3.75 | 2.23 | 2.37 | 2.86 | 2.48 | 2.7 | 3.36 | 2.45 | 3 | 3.58 | 2.73 | 2.52 | 2.99 | 3.75 | 4.01 | 4.64 | 3.04 | 3.33 | 4.39 | |
| Prices Paid — 6-Month Expectation | 4.73 | 4.34 | 4.67 | 5.46 | 5.42 | 5.88 | 4.65 | 4.7 | 5.02 | 4.95 | 5.86 | 4.68 | 6.47 | 6.99 | 5.67 | 5.21 | 6.75 | 8.38 | 7.16 | 4.64 | 4.08 | 3.78 | 2.61 | 2.72 | 2.89 | 2.28 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.33 | 3.23 | 3.21 | 3.41 | 3.09 | 3.11 | 2.89 | 3.5 | 2.72 |
Latest reading
The latest reading is −2, for Sep 2026. That is −6 from Aug 2026 and +10 from a year earlier. The series on this page is monthly and runs from Nov 1993 to Sep 2026. Source: Richmond FED (Manufacturing / Service Sector Activity Survey).
- Latest
- −2
- Sep 2026
- vs previous period
- −6
- Aug 2026
- vs a year earlier
- +10
About this data
US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index tracks Fifth District factory activity, shipments, and orders. Published monthly by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, this dataset includes current conditions and six-month expectations. The series cover key indicators such as new orders, employment, wages, and capital expenditures since 1993. Most measures are presented as seasonally adjusted diffusion indexes where positive readings indicate expansion.
Frequently asked questions
- What does the US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index measure?
- The US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index measures business conditions in the manufacturing sector within the Fifth Federal Reserve District. It tracks shipments, new orders, employment, wages, and capital expenditures.
- How often is the US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index published?
- The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond publishes the US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index monthly, typically on the fourth Tuesday of each month, with historical data starting from 1993.
- How should the US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index be interpreted?
- The US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index is a seasonally adjusted diffusion index. Positive values indicate expansion in manufacturing activity compared to the previous month, while negative values indicate contraction.
- What regions are covered by the US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index?
- The US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index covers the Fifth Federal Reserve District, which includes Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, most of West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
