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. Based on firms' responses to the Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity carried out by the Richmond FED, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for inventories of raw materials (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was 0.0 in May 2026, versus 2.0 in the previous month.
Sample. In this monthly time series, there are a total of 351 records. The time period covered by the series stretches from January 1997 to May 2026.
History. Check out a few statistics calculated on the full sample: the diffusion index averaged -2.3; it hit a minimum of -27.0 in June 2000; it reached its maximum of 16.0 in November 2025.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-31 | -2.0 |
| 2026-04-30 | 2.0 |
| 2026-05-31 | 0.0 |
Hint. 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) |
Series in the same data set
Discover the other time series included in this data set.