Richmond Fed manufacturing index for September 0 vs. -8 last month

The Richmond Fed Manufacturing dat for the month of September 2022

• Composite index 0 vs. -8 in August. The 0.0 level was also the level in July before dipping in August back into negative territory
• Services index 0 vs. -12 in August
• Manufacturing shipments 14 vs. -8 in August
• employment 0 vs. 11 in August
• wages 40 vs. 27 last month
• availability of skills needed -6 vs. -3 last month
• prices paid 10.34 vs. 12.47 last month
• prices received 7.66 vs. 9.31 last month
• new orders -11 vs. -20 last month
• backlog of orders -25 vs. -24 last month
• capacity utilization -4 vs. -5 last month
• lender lead times -11 vs. -14 last month
• local business conditions -5 vs. -14 last month
• capital expenditures 22 vs. 18 last month
• finished goods inventories -8 vs. -5 last month
• raw materials inventories for vs. -3 last month
• equipment and software spending 17 vs. 14 last month
• services expenditures 6 vs. 9 last month

Looking at expectations 6 months forward

• shipments 18 vs. 15 last month
• new orders 13 vs. 4 last month
• backlog of orders -13 vs. -4 last month
• capacity utilization 14 vs. 14 last month
• number of employees 19 vs. 28 last month
• wages 61 vs. 65 last month
• availability of skills needed -2 vs. 3 last month
• prices paid 5.14 vs. 4.90 last month
• prices received 4.5 vs. 4.35 last month

From the Richmond Fed:

Two of its three component indexes improved notably: the indexes for shipments and volume of new orders rose from -8 and -20 in August to 14 and -11 in September, respectively. However, the third component, the employment index, fell to 0 from 11 in September, as hiring challenges persisted.

The wage index also increased dramatically, surpassing its July and August levels. The local business conditions index rose but remained negative in September, moving from -14 to -5. Firms’ expectations of conditions over the next six months, too, saw a small increase but remained negative.

There was not much indication of supply chain relief since August, as the indexes for vendor lead time and backlog of orders remained steady, although both have improved dramatically since earlier this year. On a positive note, the average growth rate of prices paid and prices received both decreased markedly in September, as expectations for both over the next 12 months changed little from August.

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