The IHS Materials Price Index (MPI) rose another 1.7% in early December, furthering the strong gains since November.

Key to the price surge were freight, lumber, and oil, which gained 4.2%, 4.5%, and 3.5%, respectively. Oil prices rose strongly as OPEC’s Vienna meeting saw a supply agreement reached. Lumber markets experienced large gains in the first week of December—the result of anxiety about the potential re-imposition of tariffs and quotas on Canadian imports into the United States. Freight rates have seen large increases due to a surge in bookings as buyers attempt to lock in shipments as hedges against further increases in coal and iron ore prices.