Live cost data

Live U.S. manufacturing cost benchmarks.

Current U.S. manufacturing cost benchmarks: industrial electricity by state, natural gas, factory earnings, and PPIs for steel, nonferrous metals, and resin.

Headline U.S. benchmarks

  • Industrial electricity: 9.64 cents per kWh, U.S. average, Aug 2026 (EIA).
  • Industrial natural gas: 4.34 per Mcf, U.S. average, Aug 2026 (EIA).
  • Manufacturing average hourly earnings, production and nonsupervisory employees: 30.43 per hour, Oct 2026 (BLS).

Fuels this week and spot energy

  • On-highway diesel: 6.127 per gallon U.S. average for the week of 2026-11-09 (EIA), with regional averages from 5.741 to 7.11 dollars.
  • Regular gasoline: 3.995 per gallon U.S. average, same week (EIA).
  • Spot energy, 2026-11-11 (EIA daily): WTI crude 89.62 per barrel, Brent 92.14, Henry Hub natural gas 3 per MMBtu.

Where EIA expects prices to go

  • Industrial electricity price: EIA projects 9.03 cents/kWh in 2026 and 9.16 cents/kWh in 2027 (Short-Term Energy Outlook).
  • Industrial natural gas price: EIA projects 4.93 USD/Mcf in 2026 and 3.84 USD/Mcf in 2027 (Short-Term Energy Outlook).
  • On-highway diesel retail price: EIA projects 5.25 USD/gal in 2026 and 5.03 USD/gal in 2027 (Short-Term Energy Outlook).
  • WTI crude oil spot: EIA projects 88.29 USD/bbl in 2026 and 80.54 USD/bbl in 2027 (Short-Term Energy Outlook).

Producer price indexes, year over year

  • PPI: steel mill products: 399.645 (Oct 2026), up 32.9% year over year.
  • PPI: nonferrous mill shapes: 401.529 (Oct 2026), up 21.3% year over year.
  • PPI: primary nonferrous metals: 589.629 (Oct 2026), up 42.7% year over year.
  • PPI: plastic resins and materials: 283.875 (Oct 2026), up 9.5% year over year.
  • PPI: iron and steel: 392.522 (Oct 2026), up 25.1% year over year.
  • PPI: lumber: 275.584 (Oct 2026), up 6.4% year over year.
  • PPI: industrial chemicals: 345.026 (Oct 2026), up 17.1% year over year.
  • PPI: paper: 285.772 (Oct 2026), up 11.5% year over year.
  • PPI: machinery and equipment: 204.503 (Oct 2026), up 8% year over year.
  • PPI: foundry and forge shop products: 297.361 (Oct 2026), up 3.6% year over year.
  • PPI: bolts, nuts, screws, rivets, and washers: 342.29 (Oct 2026), down 0.4% year over year.
  • PPI: allied and miscellaneous paint products: 432.555 (Oct 2026), up 2.6% year over year.
  • PPI: other agricultural chemicals: 208.224 (Oct 2026), up 1.8% year over year.

Lowest industrial electricity prices by state (cents per kWh)

  • New Mexico: 5.08 cents/kWh
  • Louisiana: 6.1 cents/kWh
  • Tennessee: 6.92 cents/kWh
  • Texas: 7.21 cents/kWh
  • Kentucky: 7.37 cents/kWh
  • Washington: 7.43 cents/kWh
  • Mississippi: 7.57 cents/kWh
  • Arkansas: 7.85 cents/kWh

Highest industrial electricity prices by state (cents per kWh)

  • Hawaii: 39.33 cents/kWh
  • California: 24.12 cents/kWh
  • Alaska: 23.13 cents/kWh
  • Massachusetts: 20.03 cents/kWh
  • Rhode Island: 19.87 cents/kWh
  • District of Columbia: 18.53 cents/kWh
  • New Hampshire: 17.26 cents/kWh
  • New Jersey: 16.24 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 2026-11-13.