# Richmond Fed Composite Holds at -2 as New Orders Index Weakens

By Token Post

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/insights/42132
Published: 2026-10-27T23:39:20.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-27T23:39:20.000Z
Section: Insights & Views

> Shipments returned to zero, while employment and backlogs deteriorated. The composite was at 4 in August.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Fifth District manufacturing composite held at -2 in October, matching September, while new orders weakened and shipments improved.

The new orders index slipped to -8 from -6, a two-point drop. Shipments climbed to 0 from -5, returning to an even balance between firms reporting gains and declines. The readings show different directions among the survey’s main measures rather than a uniform shift in activity.

The employment gauge moved down four points, to 3 from 7, but remained above zero. The backlog index fell 11 points to -21 from -10, and the local business conditions index declined two points to -8 from -6. That left employment on the positive side of zero while backlogs and local conditions registered more reported declines than gains.

The composite stood at 4 in August before falling to -2 in September. Its unchanged October reading left it below its August level, despite the improvement in shipments. Because the composite combines several measures, movement in one component does not necessarily shift the overall gauge by the same number of points.

Shipments account for 33% of the composite, new orders for 40% and employment for 27%. Each index compares the share of firms reporting increases with the share reporting declines. A positive reading means more firms reported increases; a negative reading means more reported declines. The index tracks the balance of responses, so -2 does not mean factory output fell 2%.

Between 120 and 130 firms responded to the October survey. It covers businesses in the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and most of West Virginia. The results describe responses from that region, rather than measuring manufacturing output across the country.

The Oct. 27 release was scheduled for 10:00–10:10 a.m. ET (14:00–14:10 UTC).