Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity: Inventories of finished goods: Future (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally adjusted) - United States - Richmond FED - Monthly
This series is part of the dataset: Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity (Richmond FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. According to survey data about manufacturers based in the Fifth District, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for inventories of finished goods (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was 5.0 in September 2025, versus 9.0 in August 2025.
Sample. There are 259 data points overall in the monthly time series displayed in the chart above. The span of time covered by the series stretches from January 1997 to September 2025.
History. Here's a peek at a few descriptive statistics we calculated on the whole sample: the diffusion index recorded a maximum of 15.0 in May 2015; it recorded a minimum of -46.0 in August 2000; it had an average value of -3.3.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2025-07-31 | 9.0 |
| 2025-08-31 | 9.0 |
| 2025-09-30 | 5.0 |
Suggestion. We organize time series into worksheets and datasets to simplify exploration. By moving down the page, you will discover how we structured further material linked to the statistics published here.
Not for investment purposes. Data and any other information disseminated on FetchSeries are not intended for investment purposes or any other financial decision. Users should consult expert advice and perform their own independent due diligence before taking any financial risk.
Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Will finished goods inventories increase or decrease over the next six months? |
| Country | United States |
| Economic concept | Business survey response |
| Data type | Leading indicator of the business cycle |
| Deflation method | Not applicable |
| Seasonally adjusted | Yes |
| Rescaling | None |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Unit | Percentage points |
| Source | Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond |
| Source type | Central bank |
| Data licence | Not copyrightable under U.S. law |
| Measure type | Diffusion index (share of respondents reporting an increase minus share reporting a decrease) |