# Heat exchangers and pinch integration: Correlation Prices it moves with, and why Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_exchangers/correlation/ The index covers heat exchangers and steam condensers. Prices follow stainless and carbon steel, copper, titanium and nickel alloys plus fabrication labour, and demand from refining, chemicals, power and HVAC. Heat integration itself is design work with no price. Price index **US PPI: heat exchangers and steam condensers** index · monthly, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026 #### What its price moves with Selected link ##### Heat exchangers and pinch integration and Steel Monthly changes 0.28 weak correlation 12-month changes 0.45 moderate correlation Last 5 years -0.01 monthly changes Lead or lag none No clear lead or lag Price function, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026 Heat exchangers and pinch integration ≈ 8.66 × (Steel)^0.66 R² 0.66 On this fit, a 10% higher steel price goes with a 6.5% higher heat exchangers and pinch integration price over the long run. Units: index and index, BLS base period. Chart: Heat exchangers and pinch integration and Steel prices rebased to 100 at Jan 2006, log scale Both prices rebased to 100 at Jan 2006, on a log scale so equal percentage moves look the same size. Chart: Heat exchangers and pinch integration price against Steel price, monthly, log scales, with fitted line Each dot is one month; paler dots are older (2006), darker dots recent (2026); the ringed dot is the latest month. The dashed line is the fitted price function. Both axes are logarithmic. Commodity [St Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/steel/)Main material 0.28 Shells, tubes and plates are mostly carbon and stainless steel. Monthly moves correlate at 0.28 and yearly at 0.45 with the steel index, a weak to moderate link because fabrication and engineering add much on top of metal. weak co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Commodity [Cu Copper](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/)Tube material 0.04 Copper and copper alloy tubes are used in condensers and HVAC exchangers for their high heat conductivity. The link hardly shows in the data, as equipment is priced per order and copper is only one of several metals used. little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Commodity [Ti Titanium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/titanium/)Corrosion-proof tubes 0.12 Seawater condensers and chemical exchangers use titanium tubes and plates to resist corrosion. Monthly moves correlate at 0.12 with the titanium proxy, with yearly moves aligned more closely, a weak cost link. little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Energy [BmC Biomass combustion and CHP](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_combustion/)Same fabricators 0.79 Boilers and heat exchangers are made in the same heavy fabrication shops and share costs. Monthly moves correlate at 0.79 and yearly at 0.90, a strong common driver rather than a direct trade between them. strong co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Energy [Gas Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/)Energy saved 0.01 Better heat integration cuts the gas plants burn, so high gas prices make investment more attractive. Yearly moves correlate at 0.56 with European gas, a moderate link driven by shared industrial cycles. little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts Energy [HP Heat pumps, air conditioning and refrigeration](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_pumps/)Shared components 0.26 Heat pumps and air conditioners contain coils and plate exchangers similar to industrial ones. Monthly moves correlate at 0.26 and yearly at 0.81, a common driver from US equipment manufacturing costs. weak co-movement month to month · 249 months Show charts How to read these numbers **Correlation of monthly changes** (the number in the coloured pill) compares how much each price moved, month by month, since 2006 or the first month both series exist. It runs from −1 to +1: near +1 the two usually rise and fall in the same months, near 0 there is no link, and a negative number means they tend to move in opposite directions. Above 0.7 is strong, 0.4 to 0.7 moderate, 0.2 to 0.4 weak. **12-month changes** compare year-on-year moves, which shows whether two prices share the same cycles even when the month-to-month noise differs. **Price function** is a straight-line fit of the two prices on logarithmic scales: price ≈ k × (partner price)^β. β is how much this price moves, in per cent, for a 1% move in the partner over the whole period, and R² is the share of the variation the fit explains. Two prices that both drift up with inflation can fit well without any real link, so read it together with the monthly correlation. **Lead or lag** checks whether the monthly correlation is clearly higher when one price is shifted by 1 to 6 months. Correlation is not cause. The reasons on each card explain the economic link; the numbers show how strongly it has shown up in prices. Proxy series are US producer price indexes or related prices and can blur the real link. Data: World Bank Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet), October 2026; US Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price indexes, IMF primary commodity prices and US EIA prices via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, retrieved November 2026. Calculations by this site. ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_exchangers/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_exchangers/overview/index.md) - [Science and thermodynamics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_exchangers/rc-sci/index.md) - [Engineering and integration](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_exchangers/rc-eng/index.md) - [Economics and contracts](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_exchangers/rc-econ/index.md) - [Impact and additionality](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_exchangers/rc-impact/index.md) - [What to track](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_exchangers/tracking/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_exchangers/links/index.md)