Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index

Who: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

When: Around the second week of each month

What: CFMMI is an estimate of manufacturing output in the 7th Federal Reserve District by major industry. The Midwest is defined as the following five states making up the District: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. The CFMMI is a composite index of 16 manufacturing industries that uses electrical power and hours worked data to measure monthly changes in regional activity.

Why: Gauges activity levels for the manufacturing sector in the Midwest. Looked at as a good indicator for future inflationary pressures and can have a big effect on the markets. The Federal Reserve watches the report for signs of inflation among the different reporting sectors and makes adjustments to interest rates to help combat unwanted inflation. Changes in prices paid by manufacturers can be indicative of accelerating or decelerating inflation and future manufacturing activity can be predicted by changes in new orders.