Coverage Note: Changes to RL averages, file names, lumber assessment dates

Following market consultation and as previously announced, Random Lengths will make the following changes over the next few weeks.

Random Lengths to move to simplify monthly average calculation

With effect from September 2020, Random Lengths will simplify the process for calculating monthly averages.

Monthly averages appear in the Random Lengths weekly publication and in Yardstick. Previous to September 2020, they were calculated using the ISO 8601 rule, whereby the first week of the year is the week containing the first Thursday.

In determining monthly averages, Random Lengths expanded that rule, so the first week of a month is the week that contains the first Thursday of the month.

From September 2020, Random Lengths will use the simple arithmetic average of all prices published in the calendar month to calculate the monthly averages. This should not affect calculations for the rest of 2020, but may impact the averages in 2021 if the first day of the month falls on a Friday.

Random Lengths to change Lumber Publication date

At the same time, Random Lengths will move to publishing lumber prices online with the actual date of assessment (usually a Thursday) rather than the date of the weekly publication (usually a Friday date). This approach is more consistent with other parts of the Fastmarkets business.

The first publication where the lumber prices will appear with a Thursday date will be Thursday, October 8, 2020. The Lumber Market Report pdf files will appear with the date of the transmission (usually Thursday) as the publication date.

The publication date in the Lumber Market Report database (PUBDATE in the lbr_ems.csv) and spreadsheet (Date in the lbr_ems.xls) subscription files transmitted by email will also contain the date of transmission (usually Thursday), instead of the date of the weekly publication (usually a Friday date).

Random Lengths to change pdf file name conventions

With effect from October 5, 2020, Random Lengths will change the file name convention for publication pdf files.

The revised file names for publication pdf files will refer to the issue number and the year, instead of the month and week number. This approach is more consistent with other parts of the Fastmarkets business.

If you have any automated systems that refer to the filename, please take note that they may need to be updated. Database (csv) and spreadsheet (xls) subscription files transmitted by email filenames are unchanged.

List of publications and file name changes follow.

For comments and queries, please send email to: pricing.risi@fastmarkets.com

To see other Random Lengths Coverage Notes, go to: http://www.rlpi.com/Coverage-Notes/

To see Random Lengths pricing methodologies and specification documents, go to:

 http://www.rlpi.com/Methodology/

List of Publications and File Name Changes

Midweek

Example for Tuesday, October 6, 2020 issue

Before Oct 5:

mid_[two digit YEAR][two-digit MONTH]w[one-digit WEEK] ie. Mid_2010w2.pdf

After Oct 5:

MID_[2-digit ISSUE]_[four digit YEAR] ie MID_37_2020.pdf

Lumber

Example for Thursday, October 8, 2020 issue

Before Oct 5:

lbr_[two digit YEAR][two-digit MONTH]w[one-digit WEEK]  ie. Lbr_2010w2.pdf

After Oct 5:

LBR_[2-digit ISSUE]_[four digit YEAR] ie LBR_41_2020.pdf

Panel

Example for Friday, October 9, 2020 issue

Before Oct 5:

pnl_[two digit YEAR][two-digit MONTH]w[one-digit WEEK] ie. Pnl_2010w2.pdf

After Oct 5:

PNL_[2-digit ISSUE]_[four digit YEAR] ie PNL_41_2020.pdf

Random Lengths

Example for Friday, October 9, 2020 issue

Before Oct 5:

rl_[two digit YEAR][two-digit MONTH]w[one-digit WEEK] ie. Rl_2010w2.pdf

After Oct 5:

RL_[2-digit ISSUE]_[four digit YEAR] ie RL_41_2020.pdf

International

Example for Wednesday, October 21, 2020 issue

Before Oct 5:

rli_[two digit YEAR][two-digit MONTH]w[one-digit WEEK] ie. Rl_2010w4.pdf

After Oct 5:

RLI_[2-digit ISSUE]_[four digit YEAR] ie RLI_19_2020.pdf

Yardstick

Example for Wednesday, October 14, 2020 transmission for September Yardstick issue

Before Oct 5:

ys_[two digit YEAR][two-digit MONTH]
ie. Ys_2009.pdf

After Oct 5:

YS_[2-digit ISSUE]_[four digit YEAR] ie YS_09_2020.pdf

What to read next
Fastmarkets has launched a MB-STE-0935 Steel reinforcing bar (rebar), differential to shredded auto scrap Chicago, fob mill US, $/gross ton to complement its existing suite of steelmaking raw materials to finished product differentials on Wednesday July 23. This strategic launch is designed to offer the market a single reference price denoting the differential between steel […]
The following prices were affected:MB-BI-0001 bismuth 99.99% Bi min, in-whs Rotterdam, $ per lbMB-CD-0001 cadmium 99.95% min, cif global ports, cents per lbMB-CD-0002 cadmium 99.99% min, cif global ports, cents per lb. These prices are part of Fastmarkets’ minor metals package. For more information, or to provide feedback on the delayed publication of these prices, or if you […]
After a consultation period from June 20 to July 18, Fastmarkets made the decision to discontinue these assessments because the outright prices no longer reflect market conditions, with the market shifting toward payables as the dominant pricing method. The affected prices are:MB-NIO-0003 nickel mixed hydroxide precipitate outright price, cif China, Japan and South Korea, $ per tonneMB-NIO-0005 nickel […]
The publication of Fastmarkets’ MB-CO-0004 cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam and MB-CO-0005 cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam assessments for Wednesday July 23 was delayed because of a system error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
On reviewing the methodology specifications, Fastmarkets is proposing to update the quantity, location and payment terms of the price. The specifications would be as follows, with amendments in italics: MB-SI-0003 silicon, ddp US, US cents per lbQuality: Si: 98.50%, Fe: 0.50%, Al: 0.50%, Ca: 0.30%Quantity: Min 20 tonnesLocation:ddp USUnit: US cents per lbPayment terms: 30 days, other terms normalizedPublication: Weekly, Thursday 4-5pm […]
The lower end of the price range for Biodiesel SME B100 fob US Gulf price on Friday July 18 was erroneously published at $2.243 per gallon. This has been corrected to $4.243 per gallon. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated to reflect this change. These prices are part of the Fastmarkets Ags oils, fats and biofuels price […]