Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity: Inventories of raw materials: Future (increase vs decrease; diffusion index; percentage points; seasonally unadjusted) - 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 collected by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for inventories of raw materials (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was 8.0 in September 2025, compared to 1.0 in August 2025.
Sample. In the monthly time series plotted above, there are 259 records in total. The span of time covered by the series is from January 1997 to September 2025.
History. Here are some statistics calculated on the full sample: the diffusion index averaged -2.6; it reached its minimum of -27.0 in June 2000; it hit a maximum of 14.0 in August 2015.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2025-07-31 | 1.0 |
| 2025-08-31 | 1.0 |
| 2025-09-30 | 8.0 |
Nugget of wisdom. For our users' convenience, we categorize indicators into worksheets and datasets. If you look below, you will find how we arranged further material related to the statistics provided here.
Not for investment purposes. Data and any other information hosted on FetchSeries are not suitable for investment purposes or as a basis for making financial decisions. Users should consult expert advice and perform their own independent due diligence before pledging money to any investment.
Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Will raw materials 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 | No |
| 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) |