Richmond Fed Manufacturing: Activity Strengthened in December

Fifth District manufacturing activity grew in December, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite index rose from 12 in November to 16 in December and indicates expansion.

The complete data series behind today's Richmond Fed manufacturing report, which dates from November 1993, is available here.

Here is a snapshot of the complete Richmond Fed Manufacturing Composite series.

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Here is an excerpt from the latest Richmond Fed manufacturing overview:

Fifth District manufacturing activity strengthened in December, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite index rose from 12 in November to 16 in December, driven by increases in shipments and new orders. The third component in the composite index, employment, moderated but remained in expansionary territory. Backlogs of new orders registered their second highest index value on record, as vendor lead times remained high and inventories remained low. Meanwhile, manufacturers reported continued investment spending. Link to Report

Here is a somewhat closer look at the index since the turn of the century.

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Is today's Richmond composite a clue of what to expect in the next PMI composite? We'll find out when the next ISM Manufacturing survey is released (below).

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Let's compare all five Regional Manufacturing indicators. Here is a three-month moving average overlay of each since 2001 (for those with data).

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Here is the same chart including the average of the five.

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