{
  "name": "MFG Calcs Input Cost Diffusion Index (ICDI)",
  "slug": "us-manufacturing-input-cost-diffusion-index",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "url": "https://www.mfgcalcs.com/signals/input-cost-diffusion",
  "formula": "A classic diffusion index of the BREADTH of U.S. manufacturing input-cost increases. Over a frozen basket of 16 monthly cost-input series, at each qualifying month t: DI = 100 x (risers + 0.5 x unchanged) / n, where a riser is a series with value_t greater than value_compare, unchanged is exactly equal, and n is the basket size that month. DI = 50 is balance (as many rising as falling); above 50 means broad-based cost increases. Two series are published: the year-over-year DI (t vs t-12, the headline) and the month-over-month DI (t vs t-1), plus a 3-month moving average of the year-over-year DI. The index is computed only for months where ALL 16 basket series have data, so a series entering or leaving the sample can never move the number.",
  "basket": "FROZEN v1.0.0 basket (16 series, constant): Steel, Aluminum, Copper, Plastic resins, Industrial chemicals, Iron and steel, Lumber, Paper, Machinery, Metal castings, Fasteners, Paints and coatings, Industrial gases, Industrial electricity, Natural gas, Factory earnings. Pinned and versioned, never tuned to a result.",
  "unit": "diffusion index, 0 to 100; 50 = balance; components in percent year-over-year.",
  "scope": "A diffusion index measures how BROAD-BASED cost increases are, complementing the MFG Calcs Cost Pressure Index, which measures their MAGNITUDE. An ILLUSTRATIVE composite, not an official statistic. Its value is a frozen, reproducible methodology: the same basket, formula, and window every month, so the number is comparable over time and anyone can rebuild it from the cited public data.",
  "source": "U.S. federal open data — BLS producer price indexes and manufacturing earnings, EIA industrial electricity and natural gas.",
  "provenance": "Derived from public-domain U.S. government series. Redistributable.",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "attribution": "MFG Calcs (mfgcalcs.com)",
  "asOf": "2026-06",
  "basketSize": 16
}