Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity: Unfilled orders: 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 recent survey data about manufacturing firms in the Fifth District, the seasonally unadjusted diffusion index for unfilled orders (share of CEOs seeing a future increase minus share forecasting a decrease) was -14.0 in September 2025, compared to -13.0 in August.
Sample. There are 259 observations overall in the monthly series displayed in the figure above. The period covered by the series is from January 1997 to September 2025.
History. Check out a few descriptive statistics calculated on the entire sample: the diffusion index had a mean value of 10.4; it reached its lowest level of -27.0 in January 2022; it recorded its highest level of 39.0 in March 2018.
Latest values
| Date | Value - Percentage points |
|---|---|
| 2025-07-31 | -11.0 |
| 2025-08-31 | -13.0 |
| 2025-09-30 | -14.0 |
Tip. One of the advantages of using our web site is that we give you well-crafted metadata. Check it below to gain insights on the properties of the indicators that you use in your work.
Not for investment purposes. Any data disseminated on this web site are not intended for investment purposes or other financial decisions. Users should seek expert advice and perform their own independent due diligence before making any financial commitments.
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 | 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.