A price for cement, steel bar, timber or insulation is meaningless until you know the grade, the measure it is quoted per and where the buyer takes the goods. Building-material price lists also age quickly. This page describes how we build a benchmark when the material is heavy, graded and sold in different measures.
Builders' merchants, manufacturers and project suppliers publish prices in tonnes, cubic metres, square metres, pallets or bags. We first fix the designation you buy to, then convert each collected price to one measure and mark what the conversion assumed. Prices that cannot be tied to a stated grade are listed apart and not blended in.
Where the sources give a conversion factor, such as weight per pallet or coverage per bag, it is cited. Where they do not, the figure stays in its own measure and is flagged as not converted.
Strength class, standard reference or product code as the maker states it. A neighbouring grade is shown as a neighbour, never as the same product.
Per tonne, per square metre, per pallet or per piece. We state the conversion and its source, or leave the price unconverted.
Manufacturer list, merchant list and project quotation behave differently; each is labelled before any range is drawn.
Whether the listed price is for collection at the seller's yard or for delivery to a site. Recorded as a label, not recalculated here.
Commodity-linked materials move; a list read at a stated date is reported with that date and any validity the seller writes.
The benchmark is organised by the lines of the bill, so each assumption can be checked against a published price for that line.
Manufacturer list prices and competing merchants' prices are shown on separate rows so the spread is readable.
Both specifications are benchmarked on a shared measure, with what each includes, such as fixings or finishes, stated next to the price.
Volume agreements and call-off discounts may not be public. If you supply them they are marked client-provided.
Availability and stock are not established from price lists.
Moving materials is a separate LATYNEX service and is not part of this benchmark.
Research reports what can be established from public and provided sources. It is not a guarantee about a counterparty's future conduct and not legal advice.
No. You receive ranges by seller type and measure, with the sources and dates, and a note on what could not be compared.
Where almost nothing is published, the report says so and states what evidence exists instead of estimating.
No. It shows where published prices sit; it is not an offer and does not obtain one.
No obligation. We read your request and reply with a straight answer.
Tell us what you need to find out and by when. We confirm scope before any work starts.
Request research