A dated record of what is happening to food costs, and the evidence behind it.
Provision Record assembles public food-market data into short, dated editions: what changed, compared with which period, what might explain it, and what the figures can and cannot establish. Every edition has a permanent address, a suggested citation, downloadable tables, and the source files it was written from. No account, payment, or email address is needed to read or download anything here.
Lobster Monitor · the board
Issue 0: September 2026 baseline · Published edition| Measure | Latest | Year earlier | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPI, lobsters (index) | 191.92026-08 | 201.72025-08 | −4.9% | BLS WPU02230503 |
| PPI, unprocessed and prepared seafood (index) | 491.02026-08 | 440.22025-08 | +11.5% | BLS WPU0223 |
| CPI, food away from home (index) | 397.92026-08 | 384.92025-08 | +3.4% | BLS CUUR0000SEFV |
| Live lobster imports through Portland, ME, unit value ($/lb) | 8.412026-07 | 8.302025-07 | +1.3% | NOAA FOSS, HTS 0306320010 |
| Live lobster imports through Portland, ME (kg) | 805,9002026-07 | 1,848,5152025-07 | −56.4% | NOAA FOSS, HTS 0306320010 |
| Maine ex-vessel price, September ($/lb, derived) | 6.152025, preliminary | 6.282024 | −2.1% | Maine DMR landings |
| Consumer reference: single live hard-shell 1.25 lb, counter or pickup ($ each) | 18.90 to 19.502026-09-11, 2026-09-19; sellers D, G | — | — | Field Assembly observation record |
Year over year means the same month a year earlier. Live prices are never converted to meat prices. Index series are indexes, not prices. Every figure is in the edition's downloadable tables with its source file and retrieval time.
Six titles in build, one method
Each title follows a small set of dependable public sources and five to seven measures, chosen because someone buying, reporting on, or studying that product asks about them. Several reports from one institution are not treated as independent corroboration. A measure is added only when it answers a reader's question.
| Title | Written with | Core public sources | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Lobster Monitor | Caterers, event planners, seafood buyers | Maine DMR landings · NOAA FOSS trade · BLS PPI and CPI · USDA ERS outlook · Field Assembly observation record | 1 edition publishedLatest: Issue 0: September 2026 baseline |
| 02 | Beef Monitor | Independent restaurants, caterers, small food buyers | USDA AMS boxed beef cutout · USDA AMS fed cattle · USDA NASS Cattle on Feed · USDA ERS · BLS PPI, CPI and average prices | In developmentSources verified and captured; first edition not yet written |
| 03 | Pork Monitor | Restaurants, barbecue businesses, caterers | USDA AMS pork cutout and primals · USDA NASS Hogs and Pigs · USDA ERS · BLS PPI, CPI and average prices | In developmentSources verified and captured; first edition not yet written |
| 04 | Chicken Monitor | Restaurants, caterers, food-service buyers | USDA AMS National Chicken Report · USDA AMS broiler slaughter · USDA ERS · BLS PPI, CPI and average prices | In developmentSources verified and captured; first edition not yet written |
| 05 | Egg & Butter Brief | Bakeries, pastry shops, breakfast businesses | USDA AMS egg and dairy reports · USDA NASS · USDA ERS · BLS PPI and CPI | In developmentSources verified and captured; first edition not yet written |
| 06 | Cheddar Check | Pizzerias, sandwich shops, caterers | USDA AMS National Dairy Products Sales Report · CME cheese via USDA Dairy Market News · USDA ERS · BLS PPI, CPI and average prices | In developmentSources verified and captured; first edition not yet written |
| 07 | Coffee Current | Independent cafés, small roasters, hospitality buyers | ICO composite indicator · USDA FAS coffee reports · BLS PPI, CPI and average prices | Assessed, not scheduledSources verified; only one institution publishes a price, so no independent reading of it exists |
Status is stated as it stands. A title is listed when its sources have been examined, not when an edition exists. Core sources are the working set and may change; each edition names the exact releases it used. "Written with" names the readers whose questions shaped the measures; the editions are for anyone.
What an edition contains, and what comes with it
Every edition of every title has the same six parts, in the same order: the read, the numbers, the explanation, the uncertainty, the buyer's question, and the record. Observations, calculations, and interpretation are kept apart. An index is not a quoted price; an import unit value is not a retail price; a public market measure is not any particular supplier's cost.
Beside the text, each edition page carries a suggested citation with a copy button; CSV tables of the source-reported data and the calculated measures, at full precision, with a data dictionary; the retained source files with their retrieval times and hashes; and the timestamp record that shows when those files existed. Corrections are dated on the page and the original text stays visible.
Editions state market evidence. They do not say whether a contractual adjustment is permitted, do not find that any price is unfair, and do not forecast.
Public sources, retained evidence, dated claims
These publications extend Field Assembly's standing practice: first-party sources, quoted exactly and dated; every capture retained and externally timestamped; evidence kept apart from judgment; corrections made on the record.
Sources
Free government statistics and official market reports, plus a small set of original price observations where a title has them. No paid data subscriptions. No product listings maintained by the hundred. Like is compared with like: grade, cut, size, unit, geography, and purchasing channel.
Evidence
Each edition ships with the source versions used, publication and retrieval dates, the calculations, and the edition as delivered. Files are hashed into an append-only chain anchored by RFC 3161 timestamp tokens, and by OpenTimestamps proofs where one was produced.
Limits
A timestamp shows a captured record existed by a date. It does not show a source's figure was correct or that a quoted price was available to every buyer. Copying a public statistic creates nothing; the work here is selection, consistent comparison, transparent calculation, and preserved context.
Everything is on the site. Email is optional.
New editions appear in the archive and on each title's page. To be told by email when an edition publishes, write with the title in the subject line; the message is a notification and nothing more. Nothing on this site is withheld from readers who do not write.
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