Platts

In 1909, at the age of 25, Cleveland, Ohio journalist Warren Cumming Platt, started his own publishing venture, a monthly news magazine National Petroleum News. His intent was to level the information playing field between independent oilmen and Big Oil by promoting transparency within the oil industry. By publishing reliable market-based price information, Platt not only shed light on a once opaque marketplace, but inspired greater market efficiency and competition.

In 1923, Platt published its first, of many, daily newsletters, Platts Oilgram, to meet the need for more frequent updates on price movements and market developments. A century after its birth, the Platt publishing venture later known as “Platts” and acquired in 1953 by New York-based The McGraw-Hill Companies, provides real-time information services and more than 60 publications covering not only oil, but a dozen sectors of the energy and metals industries, and is known and relied upon by market participants and observers the world over.

About Platts
Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals and metals information, and a premier source of benchmark price assessments for those commodity markets. Since 1909, Platts has provided information and insights that help customers make sound trading and business decisions and enable the markets to perform with greater transparency and efficiency.

Purview
From an original focus on petroleum, Platts gradually expanded its purview to include petrochemicals, metals, shipping and other energy-related commodities – natural gas, electric power, coal, nuclear, bio-fuels and other renewables. Recognized for decades as the world’s leading energy information company, Platts also attained a leadership position in steel in 2011 through its acquisition of the Steel Business Briefing Group.

Global Network
Platts employs a total staff of more than 900, and maintains a network of correspondents spanning the globe. It has more than 15 offices in key cities, including major energy centers such as London, Dubai, Singapore and Houston, and global business centers such as Sao Paulo, Shanghai and New York, where its headquarters is located.

Products & Services
Platts publishes news, research, commentary, market data and analysis, and more than 9,000 price assessments daily that are widely used as benchmarks in the physical and futures markets. Its products and services include real-time news and price information; end-of-day market data; newsletters and reports; geospatial data and maps; conferences; and a weekly television program broadcast in the US and online. In addition, Platts serves customers through two business lines that operate under their own well-established brand names: The Steel Index (TSI), a price information specialist which compiles indexes through the collection of transaction data from industry participants, and BENTEK Energy®, a specialist in natural gas fundamental market data analysis.

Clients
Traders, analysts, risk managers, purchasing agents and other professionals at more than 10,000 public and private sector organizations in more than 150 countries benefit from Platts’ services. These organizations range from exploration companies, miners and refiners to end users such as utilities, airlines, steel companies and auto manufacturers. They also include government agencies, financial institutions, and professional service firms in law, engineering, consulting and asset management.

Market Engagement
In its day-to-day activities, Platts regularly engages with customers, market participants, industry organizations and regulators through forums, training sessions, and one-on-one meetings. In addition, Platts annually hosts high-profile industry events to announce its Top 250 Global Energy Companies Rankings™ and the winners of the Platts Global Energy Awards, considered the “Oscars” of the energy industry.

Parent Company
Platts is a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE-MHP), a leading global financial information and education company, whose other market-leading brands include Standard & Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education, J.D. Power & Associates, Aviation Week, and McGraw-Hill Construction. A McGraw-Hill company since 1953, Platts shares its parent’s long tradition of journalistic independence and integrity, and its steadfast commitment to providing the markets with the highest quality, timely and insightful information.