Live cost data

Live U.S. manufacturing cost benchmarks.

Current U.S. manufacturing cost benchmarks, updated as agencies publish: industrial electricity by state (EIA), natural gas, manufacturing hourly earnings

Headline U.S. benchmarks

  • Industrial electricity: 8.66 cents per kWh, U.S. average, Apr 2026 (EIA).
  • Industrial natural gas: 4.9 per Mcf, U.S. average, Apr 2026 (EIA).
  • Manufacturing average hourly earnings: 30.27 per hour, Jun 2026 (BLS).

Fuels this week and spot energy

  • On-highway diesel: 4.668 per gallon U.S. average for the week of 2026-06-29 (EIA), with regional averages from 4.283 to 5.528 dollars.
  • Regular gasoline: 3.831 per gallon U.S. average, same week (EIA).
  • Spot energy, 2026-06-29 (EIA daily): WTI crude 71.87 per barrel, Brent 71.59, Henry Hub natural gas 3.33 per MMBtu.

Where EIA expects prices to go

  • Industrial electricity price: EIA projects 8.84 cents/kWh in 2026 and 8.86 cents/kWh in 2027 (Short-Term Energy Outlook).
  • Industrial natural gas price: EIA projects 4.83 USD/Mcf in 2026 and 4.43 USD/Mcf in 2027 (Short-Term Energy Outlook).
  • On-highway diesel retail price: EIA projects 4.87 USD/gal in 2026 and 4.39 USD/gal in 2027 (Short-Term Energy Outlook).
  • WTI crude oil spot: EIA projects 88.32 USD/bbl in 2026 and 74.39 USD/bbl in 2027 (Short-Term Energy Outlook).

Producer price indexes, year over year

  • PPI: steel mill products: 348.53 (May 2026), up 6.7% year over year.
  • PPI: aluminum mill shapes: 404.859 (May 2026), up 36.8% year over year.
  • PPI: copper and brass mill shapes: 559.593 (May 2026), up 76.8% year over year.
  • PPI: plastic resins and materials: 319.371 (May 2026), up 19.5% year over year.

Lowest industrial electricity prices by state (cents per kWh)

  • Oklahoma: 5.86 cents/kWh
  • Montana: 5.99 cents/kWh
  • Arkansas: 6.2 cents/kWh
  • Iowa: 6.26 cents/kWh
  • New Mexico: 6.27 cents/kWh
  • Texas: 6.33 cents/kWh
  • Georgia: 6.84 cents/kWh
  • Tennessee: 6.95 cents/kWh

Highest industrial electricity prices by state (cents per kWh)

  • Hawaii: 38.29 cents/kWh
  • Alaska: 24.87 cents/kWh
  • District of Columbia: 22.39 cents/kWh
  • Rhode Island: 20.75 cents/kWh
  • California: 19.87 cents/kWh
  • Massachusetts: 18.55 cents/kWh
  • Connecticut: 17.93 cents/kWh
  • New Hampshire: 17.14 cents/kWh

Sources and update cadence

  • Electricity and natural gas prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration; labor earnings and producer price indexes come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • A scheduled job checks both agencies twice a week and republishes this page only when a number actually changes, so the date on this page means what it says.
  • Full state tables are downloadable as CSV on this page, and matching calculators preload these benchmarks next to their inputs.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.