What is the difference between Cost Date and Balance Date?
Table of Contents
What is the difference between Cost Date and Balance Date?
1. Cost Date
The Cost Date determines which quarter’s unit costs are used in Fastmarkets’ cost benchmarking calculations.
These include input costs such as fiber, recovered paper, chemicals, energy, labor, and other consumables.
Cost Date controls the cost inputs used in calculations.
It changes frequently (quarterly), reflecting updated prices for energy, chemicals, fiber, and other inputs.
2. Balance Date
The Balance Date reflects the last time Fastmarkets engineers changed a mill’s operational setup, based on changes either on:
- Capacity
- Product mix
- Fuel mix
- Raw material consumption
- Energy balance
- Labor and operational assumptions
Balance Date controls the operational configuration of each mill (machinery, capacity, consumption). It changes less frequently and only when real mill updates occur.
📌 Summary Table
| Term | What it controls | Update frequency | What triggers updates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost Date | Cost inputs (fiber, energy, chemicals, labor, FX) | Quarterly (labor annually) | New quarterly unit cost data |
| Balance Date | Mill operational setup (capacity, consumption, mixes) | Annually or ad hoc | Engineering review, rebuilds, capacity changes |