Join the new world

The 44% off company upgrade has boosted the demand for weapon raw materials presumably as players upgrade weapon factories to supply previously scarce rocket parts. Food raw materials inexplicably grind still lower, touching down and holding at a mere .03cc. The Raw Materials Index jumps to 46.67 on the back of a strong weapon raw materials market which has returned to a level (.1😎 not seen since mid-April.

Food matches its raw material and continues its slump as each quality level sheds market price, with Q6 stabilizing the high end. The Food Index is drops to a new record low of 60.28.

Weapon prices moderate after the jumps during the rocket factory mission & company upgrade. The Weapon Index is down for the week to 82.34, still improved over the 71.58 prior to the rocket factory introduction.

Wages moderate from their highs dropping back at week's end. The Wage Index stands at 127.80 down 5.08 from their high, but up 11 from a week ago.

Gold saw a brief rally at the introduction of the 44% upgrade, but then resumed a slow decline, but still holding above the 2000cc barrier. The Gold Index holds steady at 121.08 for the week despite the inter-week movements.

The Big Graph


Note the steady erosion of food prices since weapons jumped on Day 1677.

The 1600 AU Index
Based off of the amount of gold a player could earn in a year by working at market wage, selling 20 weapons, 200 food (both Q6) and 1750 raw materials (split 50/50 food/weapons) the 1600 AU Index continues to improve. Strong Q6 weapon prices coupled with slackening gold prices offset the food weakness. A player can now buy 291 gold over the course of a year as compared to 177 just 18 days ago. Of course, on Day 1600 a player's annual take was 451.

---

The 1600 Index has focused on the employer and how much they can make by employing people. But self-supply for market (ie: selling only what the player produced without hiring employees) is also an important source of income. Back on Day 1600 a number of players created wealth by producing from raw material factories, a viable method when raw material prices were .25 or .30 a unit, but not so much at .07 per unit.

With the recent spike in weapon raw material prices and the slump in food's prices as well as their associated raw material price, what can a player expect out of low-end companies?
A chart always helps:


Reading across, we have production level, raw material influence, income from the market, VAT hit leading us to Net Profit. Surprisingly (at least to the crack staff at the 1600 Index) a Q1 food company generates more income than a Q1 weapon (almost $11 more). The impact of the raw material cost is the king-maker here.

A Q1 weapon owner may note that they can self-supply their own raw materials thus making more profit than is noted in the chart. Lest us not forget the opportunity cost. If the same owner sold the raw materials they would get .18 each. If they choose to use them in Q1 weapon production, its costing them .18 in lost sales.

Food rules the roost on Q1 & Q2 production, with Q3 weapons pushing ahead of food.

The 1600 Index also notes the two larger raw material facilities that cost cash. Given the market difference in prices, its no surprise that weapons raw production is far more profitable.

Speaking of raw material production, is it once again becoming a viable way to generate wealth? The following chart lays out the return on investment with dissolving the facility and with keeping it.



With market prices at .18 for weapons, a player would recoup their cost in 135 days (4.5 months) and then is making pure profit. If they choose to dissolve the facility, they hit breakeven in 68 days. Its certainly a more viable option than it was at .07 just a couple of weeks ago. Food raw material facilities are a year away from even sniffing breakeven.

---

Moving Averages

For those unfamiliar with a "moving average", in the following charts, the blue line represents the market price at 3:00 eRep time. The red line in the 5-day moving average (average of the last 5-days) of market prices. What that tells us is whether prices are trending downward (the market price is below the moving average) or trending higher (the market price is above the moving average).

A quick look at the focus of this edition of The 1600 Index, raw materials
First, weapon raw materials:

The long slow decline from Day 1600's .23, a steady run at .07 A spike at introduction of rocket factory. a return to .07, and then a strong movement after the company upgrade sale.

Food raw material next:

The same long, slow decline followed by a stable period, then a fall-off at the company upgrade sale.

And low end foo😛



And weapons, also low end

Q1 blew out the margins at the rocket factory intro.


Also a wild ride as of late.



Note: prices are reflective of a percentage of Day 1600's price (Hence the "1600 Index"). In other words if an index is quoted at 88, that days price is 88% of the price on Day 1600. Except the 1600 AU Index which represents an amount of gold one can buy given market conditions as noted in that section.

Methodology on prices: prices are taken at 3:00 eRep time. The price is the average price of buying 1,000 Raw materials, 500 Food, 100 weapons (at each quality level), and 8 gold, plus the market wage less any fraction of cc (so 240, rather than 240.1). All qualities are standardized to Q1 (per hit or per health).

Sic transit gloria mundi