An independent price index · est. 2026
Four flagship indices, built from completed transactions, covering every layer of the AI buildout — compute, interconnect, power, and facility. Delivered Monday mornings. Free.
Source: SpotWire · · 50 sources · 1,364 comps · Methodology
The bottleneck
Trillions of dollars of buildout. Four layers of the physical stack. Zero published reference prices.
SWCI · Compute
−41%
A100 40GB PCIe, year-over-year
floor unknown
Source: SpotWire SWCI
SWII · Interconnect
20+
weeks — 400G optic lead times
was 8 weeks pre-2024
Source: 650 Group
SWPI · Power
5+
years — ERCOT large-load interconnect queue
and growing
SWFI · Facility
30+
weeks — Allen-Bradley ControlLogix lead times
was 6 weeks pre-2022
Source: Rockwell investor disclosures
Each constraint above has a corresponding price signal in the indices below . The weekly issue connects them.
The indices
From silicon to kilowatt. Each index aggregates retail, wholesale, and secondary prices across its layer — rebased weekly to a trailing 52-week median of 100. A reading below 100 means the basket currently trades below its trailing-year median.
SWCI
Compute
111.8
— MoM · +11.8% YoY Backfilled
YoY backfilled from public sources prior to 2027-Q2. See methodology.
gpu: n=0 · server: n=0 · ssd: n=0 · ram: n=0 · hyperscaler: n=52 · hbm: n=4 · frontier gpu: n=63
Legacy GPUs · Servers · Enterprise SSD · Server DDR4 RDIMM · Hyperscaler GPU rental · HBM stress · Frontier GPU OEM
n/a (no credible GPU comp this window)
SWII
Interconnect
113.2
— MoM
networking ebay: n=0 · transceiver ebay: n=0 · fs new list: n=9 · infiniband fs: n=32 · dac aoc fs: n=10 · nvswitch oem: n=1
Networking eBay · Transceiver eBay · Ethernet optics survey · InfiniBand survey · DAC/AOC survey · NVSwitch OEM
Cisco Catalyst 9300 (secondary)
SWPI
Power
115.5
— MoM
lmp: n=1 · queue depth: n=9 · backlog growth: n=5 · lead time: n=13 · ppi: n=4
Nationwide LMP · Queue depth · Backlog growth · Lead-time · BLS PPI
Diffusion index — 5/5 components active
SWFI
Facility
123.7
— MoM
tm ebay: n=569 · plc ebay: n=520 · ppi process: n=24 · ppi hvac: n=24 · edgar sentiment: n=4 · cooling: n=20
T&M · PLC · PPI process instruments · PPI HVAC · EDGAR cohort sentiment · CDW cooling channel
Composite — 5/6 components active
From the SWCI · featured drilldown
Last print
$4,999
-41.2% 52-wk
What you receive
Free, forever. No paywall on the index itself — that's the point. The Bottleneck Map ships once on signup; the weekly index arrives every Monday morning.
The Monday morning index
SWCI · SWII · SWPI · SWFI. Current values, week-over-week deltas, year-over-year context. Delivered before markets open.
The featured drilldown
One SKU each week, charted with editorial commentary. This week's: the A100 40GB PCIe.
The Physical AI Bottleneck Map (PDF) On signup
12–16 pages. Twenty-three chokepoints across silicon, optics, interconnect, transformers, gas turbines, water, and power — each with current pricing signal, lead time, scarcity level, and who it affects. Sent once, on signup.
Methodology updates
If we change how an index is composed, you hear it first. Rare. Always disclosed.
Methodology
The thesis
Platts began as a newsletter in 1909. Argus, in 1970. Both became the reference prices for industries that had none.
The physical AI buildout is the next such market.
Gainesville, Texas · 2026
Plus the Bottleneck Map on signup. One email a week. No spam, no upsell.