Fuels
Watch
Diesel / ULSD
Tight-biased — distillate cracks elevated
Core fuel-cost exposure for freight, field operations, and delivered-cost pass-through.
Supply chain risk intelligence
ElementWatch
ElementWatch helps buyers and market watchers see what moved in 27 critical materials — and what to do next — before the cost hits their P&L.
Mobile-first · US and North American markets primary · Global signals noted where applicable.
Free · No credit card required · Start Pro $129/mo →
Built for
Pick the lens that matches your seat.
Fleet operators
Diesel, jet, distillates, surcharge math
Monitor: EIA on-highway diesel, ULSD cracks, jet retail, propane, distillate stocks.
Decision: When to reprice fuel surcharges, lock contract rates, or hold spot.
Why Pro: Operator action + watch-next + AI explanation on every fuel signal, not just price.
Procurement / sourcing
Critical metals, specialty gases, fertilizer inputs
Monitor: Gallium, germanium, helium, neon, lithium, cobalt, copper, ammonia, urea, potash.
Decision: Buffer-stock sizing, supplier diversification, allocation-letter requests.
Why Pro: Full enriched signal set, CSV export, server-side since-last-visit diff.
Industrial buyers
Rare earths, magnets, semiconductor inputs
Monitor: Neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, heavy/light REEs, gallium, tellurium.
Decision: When to qualify a second-source, route around an export-control regime, or pre-buy.
Why Pro: Watch-next on policy + supply transmission paths, not just spot.
Investors / analysts
Macro transmission across 27 materials
Monitor: Crude/Brent, Henry Hub, freight, fertilizer, REE, critical-mineral policy.
Decision: Sector-rotation signal, earnings-call risk framing, position sizing.
Why Pro: Ask the Engine, 50 AI queries/month, CSV export of every signal.
Best first use cases
Five places ElementWatch earns its seat in week one.
1
Fleet fuel surcharge review
Compare your current surcharge formula against the live EIA on-highway diesel series and distillate cracks. Identify where lane economics have already drifted.
2
Gallium / germanium export-control watch
Track Chinese MOFCOM licensing pace and fab inventory signals so semiconductor procurement gets a heads-up before allocation calls land.
3
Helium allocation risk
Monitor Ras Laffan production cadence, US BLM reserve sales, and fab demand pull. Get force-majeure language into the next renewal before tightness arrives.
4
Fertilizer input cost watch
Watch urea / potash / ammonia spot alongside Henry Hub natural gas (feedstock). Sequence pre-buys around the planting window with cost-pressure context.
5
Rare-earth magnet exposure
NdPr spot, Chinese export quotas, Lynas / MP Materials production milestones. Map magnet-grade alloy risk to your EV, wind, or defense BOMs.
Live engine status
Top live signals — ranked by lens, not alphabetized.
Checking feed · 27 materials tracked across EIA, USGS, DOE, and IEA sources
Sources: EIA fuels · USGS critical materials · DOE strategic stockpiles · IEA global flows · Reuters / FreightWaves / Argus / Fastmarkets news layer
View as
Re-ranks all signals, movers, and materials for your role
Today
Top material developments right now.
Biggest movers
Ranked by 7-day move (price mode) and signal strength (signal mode). Fuels benchmarked to US markets.
Linked news
Only stories tied to tracked materials and active signals. Sources cited below each item.
Materials
Tap any material for decision-grade intelligence.
Fuels
Watch
Jet fuel
Firm — refinery yield competition with diesel
Air cargo and aviation fuel sensitivity tied to refining and route economics.
Fuels
Watch
Heating oil / distillates
Seasonal — inventory draws accelerating
Distillate-tightness signal reinforcing diesel and delivered-cost pressure.
Fuels
Watch
Crude / shipping
Volatile — geopolitical premium embedded
Combined crude and logistics transmission view for landed-cost and timing risk.
Power & Gas
Watch
Natural gas / LNG
Stable domestically; export pull elevated
Industrial energy, feedstock, and LNG-linked flow pressure.
Specialty Gases
Watch
Helium
Tight — allocation risk elevated after Ras Laffan disruptions
Specialty-gas continuity and allocation risk for semiconductor, medical, and cryogenic users.
Specialty Gases
Watch
Neon
Watchful — alternate sourcing grown but concentration remains
Specialty gas critical to semiconductor lithography; historically concentrated in Eastern Europe.
Specialty Gases
Watch
Xenon
Stable but thin — volatility baked in
Niche specialty gas — outsized price response to minor disruption.
Critical Materials
Watch
Gallium
Critical — export licensing regime active since 2023
Strategic semiconductor material under active export control from dominant supplier.
Rare Earths
Watch
Neodymium
Strategic — processing concentration is the dominant risk
Anchor rare earth for permanent magnets in EV motors and wind turbines.
Rare Earths
Watch
Praseodymium
Tracks neodymium — same structural risk
Paired with neodymium in high-performance magnets; co-tracked for magnet risk.
Rare Earths
Watch
Dysprosium
Strategic — heavy rare earth concentration is the structural issue
Heavy rare earth — hardens neodymium magnets for heat-intensive applications.
Rare Earths
Watch
Terbium
Scarce — thin market amplifies any disruption
Heavy rare earth improving magnet coercivity and heat tolerance.
Rare Earths
Watch
Yttrium
Stable but concentrated
Rare earth for phosphors, ceramics, superalloys, and lasers.
Critical Materials
Watch
Iridium
Thin market — hydrogen investment drives demand expectations
Catalyst metal critical to green hydrogen electrolyzers and specialty industry.
Critical Materials
Watch
Germanium
Critical — export controls tightened alongside gallium in 2023
Critical material for semiconductors, optics, and infrared applications.
Critical Materials
Watch
Natural graphite
Strategic — battery-grade is export-control targeted
Battery anode material — processing concentration is the supply chain risk.
Critical Materials
Watch
Silicon carbide
Supply expanding — demand still outpacing capacity adds
Wide bandgap semiconductor powering EV power electronics and industrial systems.
Critical Materials
Watch
Tellurium
Byproduct-constrained — supply tied to copper refining volumes
Byproduct of copper refining used in CdTe thin-film solar and specialty alloys.
Fertilizer Inputs
Watch
Urea
Seasonal — planting demand and gas prices drive movement
Nitrogen fertilizer — gas-linked cost transmission into agricultural input pricing.
Fertilizer Inputs
Watch
Potash
Watchful — sanctions impact persists; Canadian flows stable
Potassium fertilizer — highly concentrated supply from Canada, Russia, Belarus.
Fertilizer Inputs
Watch
Ammonia
Tracks gas — structurally linked to Henry Hub movement
Natural-gas-linked nitrogen feedstock and emerging shipping fuel candidate.
Critical Materials
Watch
Copper
Elevated — electrification demand vs. constrained mine supply
Foundational industrial metal — electrification, construction, and defense demand drive price and supply tightness.
Critical Materials
Watch
Lithium
Oversupplied near-term; structural deficit expected 2027+
Battery-grade lithium is the defining supply chain constraint for EV and grid-storage scale-up.
Critical Materials
Watch
Cobalt
Soft — demand shift to lower-cobalt chemistries easing near-term; DRC risk persistent
EV battery cathode material — over 70% of global mine supply concentrated in DRC.
Critical Materials
Watch
Aluminum
Tariff-sensitive — Section 232 and retaliatory duties create US-import premium
Broadly used industrial metal — tariff sensitivity and energy-cost-driven smelting economics shape price.
Fuels
Watch
Propane / LPG
Tracks Henry Hub — export arbitrage creates US basis volatility
US-exported LPG tied to Mont Belvieu and Henry Hub; critical for rural heating, ag drying, and petchem feedstock.
Material intelligence
Diesel / ULSD
Fuels · Procurement / sourcing · US national benchmark
Tight-biased — distillate cracks elevated
Watch · Medium confidence
What changed
Core fuel-cost exposure for freight, field operations, and delivered-cost pass-through.
Why it matters now
Core fuel-cost exposure for freight, field operations, and delivered-cost pass-through.
Dominant supplier
US refiners; Gulf Coast complex dominant
Exposed industries
Trucking, field services, construction, delivery, distribution
Action window
Weekly — review surcharge formulas and lane economics
Watch next
ULSD crack spreads, refinery runs, crude direction, rack behavior
Signals
Ranked evidence layer across the monitored universe.
Search
Find a material, element, supplier, or industry.
Search 27 tracked materials by name, alias (Nd, REE, rare earth), supplier country, or exposed industry. Try helium, China, semiconductor, or fleet.
Methodology & sources
Canonical materials, explicit event mapping, structured analyst outputs.
Decision engineEvery material answers: what changed, why it matters, who's exposed, action window, and watch next — not a generic risk score.
Primary sourcesOfficial: EIA, USGS, DOE, IEA. Industry: Reuters, FreightWaves, Transport Topics, Rigzone, OilPrice, Fastmarkets, Argus Media, Metal Tech News.
Ranking logicSignal strength, recency, source quality, and your lens (procurement / investor / industrial / fleet) weight what you see first.
Pricing disciplineLive US benchmarks (EIA) shown with prices. Non-fuel materials shown as Signal & Policy Watch — no liquid price benchmark. For transaction-grade pricing consult Fastmarkets, Argus Media, or USGS.
Geographic scopeUS and North American markets primary. Global signals noted on material scope badge. Not a substitute for regional specialists.
Where we don't competeGrade-level cargo tracking and real-time waterborne energy analytics are handled by enterprise platforms (Vortexa, Kpler) at enterprise pricing. ElementWatch is built for operators, buyers, and market watchers who need interpretation across 27 critical materials without a $50k platform.
Important notice
ElementWatch provides informational analysis only. It is not financial, investment, legal, or procurement advice. Verify with authoritative sources before any commercial decision. Subscription terms and data provenance are described in our Terms and Privacy policies.