Richmond Fed manufacturing index for December 2020
- prior month. The index moved from 29 to 15 last month.
- Shipments 12 vs. 20 last month
- New orders 24 vs. 12 last month
- Number of employees 20 vs. 13 last month
- Wages 32 vs. 25 last month
- backlog of orders 17 vs. 11 last month
- capacity utilization 15 vs. 14 last month
- vendor leadtime 31 vs. 17 last month
- capital expenditures 8 vs. -1 last month
- finish good inventories 7 vs. -7 last month
- raw material inventories 5 vs. -1 last month
- equipment and software spending for vs. 2 last month
- service expenditures -1 vs. 0 last month
- Prices paid 2.1 vs. 2.18 last month
- prices received 1.76 vs. 1.14 last month
The peak in 2020 was at 29 in October. That was the spike rebound after the plunge in April took the index all the way down to -54. In December a year ago, the index stood at -1.
In the Richmond Feds own words:
"Survey results indicated that many firms increased employment and wages in December. However, manufacturers struggled to find workers with the necessary skills. They expected this difficulty to continue and both employment and wages to continue to grow in the next six months.
The average growth rate of prices paid by survey respondents declined slightly in December, while that of prices received rose, narrowing the gap between the two. Respondents expected growth of prices paid and received to increase in the near future."
For the full report from the Richmond Fed, CLICK HERE.
