Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity: Local business conditions: 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 based in the Fifth District, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for local business conditions (share of CEOs seeing a future improvement minus share forecasting a worsening) was -4.0 in September 2025, versus -11.0 in August 2025.
Sample. In this monthly time series, there are 136 records in total. The series covers the span of time extending from February 2010 to September 2025.
History. Here are some statistics computed on the whole sample: the diffusion index recorded its highest level of 53.0 in April 2021; it reached a minimum of -31.0 in June 2022; it had an average value of 20.4.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2025-07-31 | -6.0 |
| 2025-08-31 | -11.0 |
| 2025-09-30 | -4.0 |
Hint. Our metadata often contain references to the sources of the data series we publish. You can use these references to discover more details.
Not for investment purposes. Any financial data made available on this web site are not meant for investment purposes or other financial decisions. Users should obtain expert advice and do their own independent due diligence before making any financial commitments.
Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Will local business conditions improve or worsen 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) |