Metals, energy, freight and input costs, with category strategy for procurement teams.
The IEA does not expect distillate stocks to rebuild before the second half of 2027, and new missile strikes on Saudi energy sites threaten the Gulf export recovery that was easing prices, so fuel clauses in 2027 freight contracts need to hold up for another year.
Retail diesel is above $6 a gallon after a record above $6.50. Analysts say the announced Russian volumes are small against U.S. demand and the red-dye diesel order is short on specifics, so freight budgets should assume elevated fuel costs.
Our new Cost Pressure Monitor tracks 12 categories procurement teams buy most. Seven are rising, led by steel and deep-sea freight, while aluminum, plastic resins and semiconductors have turned lower.
Global manufacturers bought inputs at the fastest pace since May as shortages of oil and oil-based products deepened and transportation costs rose for the first time since April, the S&P Global–GEP index found.
The ISM manufacturing PMI held at 54.5 in September, but the prices index rose 6.8 points and 59% of respondents paid more. Electronic components, memory, circuit boards and several steel products are in short supply.
Middle East Gulf tanker rates hit a record, European diesel cargoes are up about 70% since February, and Morgan Stanley sees oil markets in deficit into early 2027. Here is what that means for freight, energy and petrochemical-based categories.
