United States Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index

Last Release

Apr 30, 2024

Actual

-7

Units In

Points

-11

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

May 29, 2024

Time to Release

1 Months 3 Days 23 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
28 Mar 2004	-45 Apr 2020	2.59 Points	1993-2024	Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

The Richmond Manufacturing Index measures the conditions of the manufacturing sector for the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and most of West Virginia. The index is derived from a survey of 190 manufacturing plants and based on three individual index with the following weights: Shipments (33 percent), New Orders (40 percent) and Employment (27 percent). The index can range between +100 and -100; a reading above zero indicates expansion, while below zero suggests a contraction.

Latest Updates

The composite manufacturing index in the US Fifth District area increased to -7 in April from -11 in March, as expected. Shipments (-10 vs -14 in March) and new orders (-9 vs -17) increased while employment fell (-2 vs 0). Firms continued to report declining backlogs and vendor lead times in April, as those indexes increased but remained negative. The capacity utilization index rose to -5 from -21. Also, firms were more optimistic about local business conditions (6 vs-1). The average growth rate of prices paid decreased in April, while the average growth rate of prices received edged up slightly. Looking ahead, future local business conditions rose (16 vs 12), as the future indexes for shipments and new orders rose notably, suggesting that firms expect improvements in these areas over the next six months.