Research Guides: Chemical Engineering: Find Chemical Prices

Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index

CEPCI (Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index) is no longer available in the print issues of Chemical Engineering. Older copies from August 2024 and back with previous CEPCI prices are available on the 1st floor of Chester Fritz Library in the periodicals area, call number TN 1 .M45 .

Chemical Prices

For current chemical prices in small quantities, search for the chemical in the Sigma Aldrich's online catalog. For bulk pricing and historical data, refer to the resources below.

SciFinder

Use this library database to find chemical information, including chemical properties and reactions.

Note: If you haven't used SciFinder before, first you will need to register on campus. Once you are logged in:

On the left select "Suppliers"
Type in the name of a substance, such as calcium carbonate, and click on the microscope to search
The search results will list prices and quantities for the substance from commercial suppliers.

Government Resources

US Energy Information Administration
Provides current, historical, and projected prices and other data related to coal, petroleum, natural gas, kerosene, propane, renewable fuels, electricity, and more.
USGS National Minerals Information Center
The Commodity Statistics and Information include price, production, and other data on metals, salts, fertilizers, oxides, elements, and more.
USDA Agricultural Prices
Includes prices and data on corn, soybean, wheat, and other agricultural products.
National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC)
Provides average drug cost data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
BLS Producer Price Indexes
The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures price changes from the seller's perspective for manufacturing, mining, and some other sectors such as construction.
FRED - Producer Price Indexes for Chemicals and Allied Products
For converting historical prices into current prices, use the Producer Price Index: Updated Price = Older Price x [(Cost Index at Newer Date) / (Cost Index at Older Date)]

Periodicals

Chemical Pricing Database - Beta Version
Directs users to citations of trade journals with chemical pricing information, Chemical Week and ICIS Chemical Business. Print versions of Chemical Week are on the 1st floor of the library in the periodicals area. ICIS Chemical Business discontinued their print publication and we do not subscribe to their online publication (it is priced for industry, not academia).

Business Source Ultimate
Provides a wide variety of business full-text journals and magazines, including expanded access to Harvard Business Review’s (HBR) top 500 articles. Includes company information on over 1 million public and private companies with case studies, SWOT analysis, market research reports, and Standard and Poor’s Industry Surveys. Offers over 27,000 business videos from Academy of Management, HBR, Bloomberg and IGI Global.

Oil & Gas Journal
Includes weekly oil and gas prices and production information in the statistics section, which is in the print version of the publication on the 1st floor of the library in the periodicals section. We also subscribe to the online version, which includes their industry surveys and special reports.

Other Resources

Plastics Insight - Resin Prices
Provides prices and other information for 22 resins.
The Plastics Exchange
Includes contract pricing for several plastics, HDPE, LDPE, and PP.
UN Comtrade
Includes current and historical trade data. You can estimate annual price trends using trade value data (trade value/ weight = price/weight).
International Medical Products Price Guide
Includes pharmaceutical prices from various suppliers over time.