Company

Methodology

Sources first, then our models by version, then the rules for every price and lead time in an article. Model-specific detail is on each model page.

Sources

Primary sources first: SEC filings and earnings materials, Federal Register notices and CBP CSMS messages, USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule, utility tariffs and PUC dockets, ISO and RTO reports, Census, BLS, EIA and FRED series, OEM lead-time bulletins, and public procurement awards. Press reports of paywalled research (Wood Mackenzie, Dell'Oro, Interact Analysis) are cited as "as reported by" the outlet, never as the report.

Our models

Every model page carries a version number and a "compiled from" line. Version 0.x is a compilation of public series with the method published here. Version 1.x adds data we collected: distributor and EPC panels, contributed quotes, interviews. Charts from a model are captioned Source: Open Factory <Model> (compiled from <inputs>; as of <month year>) on first use in each article.

Lead-Time Monitor 0.1. Eleven equipment classes. Inputs: Schneider Electric's monthly Lead Times Guide, Siemens LV schedules as republished, Census M3 unfilled orders over shipments for NAICS 3353, ISM Report on Business supplier deliveries and capex lead-time table, BLS PPI WPU117409 and WPU1175, and backlog disclosures for Powell, Eaton, Vertiv, GE Vernova, Caterpillar, Cummins and Generac. Every cell is a published lead time with its OEM and date. Survey figures from third parties are labelled as theirs.

Public Bid-Tab Price Book 0.1. Awards from utility, municipal and state procurement portals and board minutes for transformers, MV switchgear, gensets and chillers, normalized to $/kVA, $/section and $/kW. Each band shows n, region and award-date range. Individual awards are public record and are linked; no private quote is ever shown.

Large-Load Cost Table 0.1. Fifteen utilities or markets: study fee, security per MW, minimum bill, term, exit fee, CIAC exposure, realistic energization year, each cell linked to the tariff sheet or docket.

Datacenter MEP Cost Table 0.1. Capex per MW by component on the Turner & Townsend and JLL baselines, each line carrying its lead time from the Monitor.

OEM Disclosure Scorecard 0.1. Observable disclosure only: does the OEM publish lead times, list prices, backlog in dollars, capacity in units, delivery performance. Source beside every cell. Ten business days' right of reply.

Book-to-Bill League Table 0.1. Filings only, quarterly.

Equipment Price Benchmark 0.0. A contribution form. Distributions publish only from cells with five or more contributors and eight or more quotes, no contributor above 40 percent of a cell, all quotes at least three months old.

Prices and lead times in articles

Every price carries a unit, a date and, where it is a distribution, n. Every tariff rate carries the instrument, its Federal Register or CSMS citation and an as-of date. Conflicting primary sources are printed as a conflict.

Corrections

In place, with a dated note, logged at /corrections.

Model pages and current headlines

  • Book-to-Bill League Table

    Version 0.1. Quarterly, within two weeks of the last filing in the set. Headline 3.0x, as of August 3, 2026.

  • Datacenter MEP Cost Table

    Version 0.1. Quarterly, after the Lead-Time Monitor's quarter-end edition; baselines refreshed when Turner & Townsend and JLL publish. Headline $9.8M per MW, as of March 13, 2026.

  • Large-Load Cost Table

    Version 0.1. Updated as dockets move; reviewed monthly; energization years revisited each quarter. Headline 2033, as of August 21, 2026.

  • Lead-Time Monitor

    Version 0.1. Monthly, first business day, after the Schneider guide (about the 2nd) and the M3 release. Headline 50 weeks, as of September 2, 2026.

  • OEM Disclosure Scorecard

    Version 0.1. Semi-annual, after the Q2 and Q4 filing seasons, with corrections as OEMs respond. Headline 9 of 18, as of August 5, 2026.

  • Equipment Price Benchmark

    Version 0.0. Quarterly, once any cell clears the threshold.

  • Public Bid-Tab Price Book

    Version 0.1. Rolling additions; bands recomputed quarterly once the launch threshold is met.