Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity: Capital 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 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 adjusted diffusion index for capital expenditures (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was -11.0 in September 2025, compared to -15.0 in August 2025.
Sample. There are 259 data points overall in the monthly time series presented in the chart above. The series covers the time period stretching from January 1997 to September 2025.
History. Check out a few descriptive statistics calculated on the entire sample: the diffusion index had a mean of 14.5; it hit a peak of 42.0 in May 2021; it recorded a minimum of -31.0 in January 2008.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2025-07-31 | -19.0 |
| 2025-08-31 | -15.0 |
| 2025-09-30 | -11.0 |
Tip. An advantage of using our web site is that we provide complete metadata. Check it below to delve deeper into the characteristics of the time series that you use in your research.
Not for investment purposes. Content shared on FetchSeries is not intended for investment purposes or other financial decisions. Users should ask for professional advice and do independent analysis before pledging money to any investment.
Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Will capital 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) |
Series in the same data set
Discover the other time series included in this data set.