Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity: Unfilled orders: 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. According to survey data about manufacturers based in the Fifth District, the seasonally adjusted diffusion index for unfilled orders (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) stood at 2.0 in September 2026, versus 6.0 in August.
Sample. There are 353 records in the monthly time series displayed in the chart above. The period covered by the series is from May 1997 to September 2026.
History. Here's a glimpse of some descriptive statistics we calculated on the full sample: the diffusion index was equal on average to 10.9; it achieved a maximum of 39.0 in February 2002; it reached its minimum of -31.0 in April 2020.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | 6.00000 |
| 2026-08-31 | 6.00000 |
| 2026-09-30 | 2.00000 |
Heads-up. An advantage of our web site is that we give you complete metadata. Check them below to gain insights on the characteristics of the time series that you are exploring.
Not for investment purposes. Data and analyses provided on this web site are not suitable for investment purposes or as a basis for financial-decision making. Users should ask for professional advice and do independent analysis before taking any financial risk.
Series Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Description | Diffusion index for the question: Will unfilled orders 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.