The Richmond Fed Survey of Manufacturing Activity: December 2011

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond released their Survey of Manufacturing Activity for December showing that the composite index, the broadest measure of manufacturing activity, improved 3 points to a weak level of 3.

The most notable component measures also showed similar results with the new orders improving to 7, shipments increasing to 3 and backlog of orders climbing to a weak 1.

The following chart plots the composite index with the red line marking a level of 0, or the threshold between increasing and declining activity.