Richmond Fed Manufacturing: Declines in May

Fifth District manufacturing activity declined in May, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index stood at -9 in May compared to 14 in April.

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.

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

Many Fifth District manufacturing firms reported declines in activity in May, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index fell from 14 in April to −9 in May, as two of the three components of the index turned negative: the indexes for shipments and volume of new orders declined from 6 in April to −16 and −15 in May, respectively. The third component, the employment index, remained positive at 8 but fell from 22 in April. Additionally, the local business conditions index continued its decline to −16 in May, from −10 in April. Firms are also less optimistic about conditions in the next six months as the index decreased to −13 in May from −1 in April. Link to Report

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

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).