Notice of Intent - Global Steel and Aluminum Monitoring Services

The Department of Commerce Office of the Secretary issued a Notice of Intent to award a sole-source purchase order to CRU International Ltd. for an enterprise-wide subscription to the CRU Asset Platform, with a response deadline of August 31, 2026. The acquisition is restricted to CRU; interested firms may submit written responses addressing each requirement within ten calendar days of publication, but if no qualified alternative is received, the purchase order will be awarded to CRU without further notice.

The International Trade Administration, Office of Enforcement and Compliance, requires a comprehensive online database subscription providing plant-level data on global steel, aluminum, and copper production, including cost drivers, production numbers, power usage, ownership information, and technical parameters. Required features include unique monthly crude steel production data, quarterly updates, plant-level information supported by on-the-ground teams in China, export capability to Excel and Power BI, an asset platform for comparative analysis, process-level emissions comparisons, and 24/7 online availability with no required software installation. The vendor must provide enterprise-wide unlimited access for ITA employees, grant ITA rights to internally redistribute data and publicly publish visualizations with vendor approval, maintain expert analyst consultation globally, and operate a Help Desk with two-business-day data correction service.

The estimated performance period runs September 1, 2026 through August 30, 2027. The Government determined that CRU Asset Platform is the only source providing unified, comprehensive, direct-access data manipulation on a single web-based platform, supported by attestations from the American Iron and Steel Institute, OECD Steel Committee, Aluminum Association, and International Aluminum Institute. Interested parties must submit responses to tsnowden@doc.gov.