Recuperators and regenerators: Correlation
Prices it moves with, and why
Recuperators and regenerators are custom-built from heat-resistant steels, nickel alloys and ceramics, and priced per project. The proxy is the US heat exchanger index, which follows steel and industrial investment. Their value to buyers rises with fuel prices.
Proxy US PPI: heat exchangers and steam condensers index · monthly, Jan 2006 to Sep 2026There is no free public price for recuperators and regenerators itself, so this tab uses the closest public series as a stand-in. Read the numbers as an indication, not as the price of this exact item.
What its price moves with
Selected linkRecuperators and regenerators 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 Recuperators and regenerators ≈ 8.66 × (Steel)0.66 R² 0.66 On this fit, a 10% higher steel price goes with a 6.5% higher recuperators and regenerators price over the long run. Units: index and index, BLS base period.Chart: Recuperators and regenerators 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: Recuperators and regenerators 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.Recuperators are built from stainless and heat-resistant steels. Monthly moves correlate at 0.28 and yearly at 0.45 with the steel index, a weak to moderate link because fabricated equipment adds labour and engineering on top of metal.
weak co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsHigh-temperature parts use nickel-rich stainless steels and alloys. The link barely shows, with monthly moves correlating at 0.06, because nickel swings are averaged out over long fabrication contracts and other costs.
little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsBy preheating combustion air with exhaust heat, recuperators cut the gas a furnace burns, so dearer gas shortens payback. 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 chartsBoilers and heat exchangers come from the same heavy fabrication shops and share steel, welding and labour costs. Monthly moves correlate at 0.79 and yearly at 0.90, a strong common driver rather than a direct trade.
strong co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsRecuperators are fitted to furnaces, kilns and burners, so they sell with new combustion equipment. Yearly moves correlate at 0.78, a common driver from US manufacturing costs and industrial investment.
little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsSteel, glass, cement and metal heat-treatment plants are the main buyers, and higher energy tariffs raise the value of heat recovery. Yearly moves correlate at 0.37 with the industrial power proxy, a weak link.
little or none co-movement month to month · 249 months Show chartsHow 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.