Fifth District manufacturing increased in December, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index is at 1 in December, up 10 from November.

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:

Some Fifth District manufacturing firms reported modest improvements in December, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index climbed into positive territory, increasing from −9 in November to 1 in December. Each of its three component indexes — shipments, new orders and employment — improved, with the index for shipments seeing the most notable increase from −8 in November to 5 in December. 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 2001 (for those with data).

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

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