Fifth district manufacturing decreased in January, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index is at -11 in January, down 12 from December. This is worse than the Investing.com forecast of -5.

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:

Fifth District manufacturing firms reported some deterioration in business conditions in January, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index fell noticeably into negative territory, decreasing from 1 in December to −11 in January. Each of its three component indexes: shipments, new orders, and employment declined, with the index for new orders plummeting from −4 to −24 in January. Alongside a slightly negative employment index, the wage index increased from 37 to 41 in January. 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).

Let's compare all five regional manufacturing indicators. Here is a three-month moving average overlay of each since 2004 (for those with data).

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

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