If Your Suppliers Are Raising Prices, Your Quotes May Need to Change Too
October 4, 2026
If your business buys metal, plastic, or other raw materials, September’s manufacturing data is worth paying attention to.
According to the latest ISM Manufacturing PMI, manufacturers are still seeing healthy demand. New orders increased in September, and employment improved too.
But the bigger story is pricing.
The ISM Prices Paid Index jumped 6.8 points to 77.9. Nearly 59% of the businesses surveyed said they paid more for raw materials in September, while less than 3% said prices went down.
So, unless your supplier has somehow escaped the laws of economics, there is a pretty good chance their costs are going up too.
Why this matters for your business
When your supplier is paying more for materials and getting more orders at the same time, they have less reason to hold an old price for you.
That means the quote you received a few weeks ago may not still be valid when you’re ready to place the order.
Steel and aluminum tariffs are part of the issue. Higher petroleum costs are another. Petroleum affects more than gas prices. It can also increase the cost of plastics, transportation, shipping, and manufacturing.
And these increases don’t always hit all at once.
A supplier may still be working through older inventory or an existing contract today, then raise prices when they reorder next month.
Which is always fun to discover after you’ve already promised your customer a price.
The part I would look at right now
If you give your own customers quotes that depend on metal, plastic, freight, or other materials, check how long those quotes are valid.
If you’re still guaranteeing pricing for 60 days, that may be more risk than you want to take right now.
A shorter quote window, maybe 14 to 21 days, gives you more flexibility if your own costs change.
Another option is adding language that allows for a material-cost adjustment if your supplier increases prices before the work begins.
It doesn’t have to be complicated.
The goal is simply to avoid promising a customer a price based on costs that your own supplier is no longer willing to honor.
Because “we quoted this two months ago and hoped for the best” is not really a pricing strategy.
One thing we don’t know yet
Two pieces of the ISM report that are usually helpful, Supplier Deliveries and Backlog of Orders, weren’t available in the sources reviewed this month.
Those numbers would give us a better idea of whether higher prices are also starting to create longer lead times.
So for now, I wouldn’t assume there’s a supply shortage. What we can see clearly is that material costs are rising while new orders remain strong.
What I’d do this week
Take a look at your open customer quotes that include significant material costs.
If you’re guaranteeing pricing for longer than 21 days, ask yourself what happens if your supplier increases your cost before the customer says yes.
Then consider either shortening your quote-validity period or adding a simple material-cost adjustment.
You don’t need to predict where prices are going next.
You just need to make sure a quote you sent two months ago doesn’t become your problem when your supplier sends you a new price today.
Future you will probably appreciate that.
Source: Quartz, “ISM Manufacturing PMI Prices September 2026”
https://qz.com/ism-manufacturing-pmi-prices-september-2026-fed-rates-100126
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