Fifth District Survey of Non-Manufacturing Activity: Equipment and software expenditures: 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 Non-Manufacturing Activity (Richmond FED)
Download Full Dataset (.xlsx)Latest updates. According to survey data about nonmanufacturing firms collected by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for equipment and software expenditures (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was 6.0 in September 2026, compared to 14.0 in August 2026.
Sample. The monthly series displayed in the graph has a total of 190 data points. The period covered by the series stretches from December 2010 to September 2026.
History. Have a look at some statistics we computed on the whole sample: the diffusion index had an average value of 19.9; it hit a peak of 44.0 in August 2021; it reached its lowest level of -7.0 in April 2020.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | 11.0000 |
| 2026-08-31 | 14.0000 |
| 2026-09-30 | 6.00000 |
Tip. We organize indicators into data sets and worksheets to make your life easier. By moving down the page, you will find how we structured further material related to the statistics provided here.
Not for investment purposes. Any financial data hosted on this web site are not intended for investment purposes or any other financial decision. Users should ask for 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 equipment and software expenditures 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) |
| Other information | Not available |
Series in the same data set
Discover the other time series included in this data set.