Benchmark to the clearing price
Jobbers and retail end users need to know where product actually cleared at a terminal city, in order to set internal transfer prices and judge whether they are buying and selling well. However, commonly referenced rack indexes are built from supplier postings. A posted price is an asking price, and on active days real volume moves at negotiated levels below the post. An index built only from postings can also swing on a single distressed reseller load that no buyer with real volume can repeat.
Mills Assessed Rack Clearing (MARC) Price Assessments publish a twice daily weighted average built from futures, spot, posted rack, term, and day deal transactions, which results in a benchmark that reflects the market clearing level. Buyers indexed to MARC can see when a posted low still sits above the market, and sellers can see when a low print is too thin to chase.