United States Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index

Last Release

Apr 30, 2025

Actual

-13

Units In

Points

-4

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

May 28, 2025

Time to Release

1 Months 3 Days 14 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
28 Mar 2004	-45 Apr 2020	2.19 Points	1993-2025	Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

The Richmond Manufacturing Index measures the conditions of the manufacturing sector for the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and most of West Virginia. The index is derived from a survey of 190 manufacturing plants and based on three individual index with the following weights: Shipments (33 percent), New Orders (40 percent) and Employment (27 percent). The index can range between +100 and -100; a reading above zero indicates expansion, while below zero suggests a contraction.

Latest Updates

The composite manufacturing index in the US Fifth District plummeted to -13 in April of 2025 from -4 in the previous month, well below market expectations of -6, and reflecting the sharpest decline in factory activity since November of last year. The data was aligned with other leading indicators released for the start of the second quarter, pressured by the impact of aggressive tariffs on inputs that are essential for manufacturing. The shipments index fell to -17 from -7, the sharpest decline in seven months. Also, the volume of new orders plummeted to -15 from .4, while the backlog of orders sank to -24 from -1 as firms depleted pending work to limit a sharper decline in shipments. In the meantime, expectations on future shipments sank to -20, reversing from the 7 in the previous month.