Supply Chain: Commodity & Material Prices

Provides estimated spot prices but not contracted rates for FCL (full container load) and LCL (less than container load)

CoStar

• Commercial & residential property rates for the U.S. metro and states
• Access only available at the Tozzi Center

Search for YnFx Global Textile Weekly Price Watch

• Polyester, nylon, acrylic, viscose and cotton. Also include feedstock prices

Products are made from raw materials whose prices can fluctuate daily. One of the responsibilities of a supply chain professional is to identify product cost drivers and determine how to address price changes.

Price benchmark information is used in contract negotiations and in establishing favorable prices. Contracts sometimes included price escalation clauses which are tied to commodity market exchanges or fee-based price reporting PRA sources.

Price Availability

• Price information is mostly available for raw materials or commodities where standard specifications have been established and there is little variance in their production process.   Examples include commodities in base metals, agriculture, energy, pulp and paper, certain steel forms and grades, plastic resins, fertilizers and other chemicals
   
• Prices for finished goods are usually not publicly available and are confidential because they are determined by factors such as  the degree of customization and volume purchased.  These prices can only be obtained through the RFQ (request for quote) or bidding process.   A few examples of finished goods are fasteners, adhesives, electronic enclosures, corrugated boxes, and equipment. 

Origin

• Major world commodity exchanges such as LME, ICE, CME-NYMEX, and SHFE
• Price benchmark assessments are provided by fee-based specialized price reporting agencies (PRAs) or special industry publications. Examples of major PRAs are Fastmarkets (Metal Bulletin), ResourceWise, ICIS, S&P Platts. 

Rarely free 

• Real time spot and forecast price information require subscriptions.  Exchanges  allow access to same day, real time price transactions only through their approved vendors such as Bloomberg, Fastmarkets, and others.
• Forecasters charge for their analysis; Information providers for collecting and analyzing the data.
• In the U.S., government agencies such as the EIA and USDA provide some recent price assessments and forecasts for energy and some agricultural commodities.  Price publishing for certain sectors can also be delayed by weeks or months
• Trade associations are good sources for supply and demand statistics but very rarely provide prices

Recent or real time prices for the following select commodities and finished goods are available through the following Kresge Library, government and organization resources

Consult the Librarian for price information not listed