diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5423b42..0aa9a58 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@ A Star Citizen item catalog built from the
 [scunpacked](https://github.com/richardthombs/scunpacked) game data (mirrored at
 [StarCitizenWiki/scunpacked-data](https://github.com/StarCitizenWiki/scunpacked-data)).
 
-Ships, ship equipment, and FPS items are browsable with search, manufacturer /
-type / size filters, pagination, and a detail view per item.
+Ships, ship equipment, FPS items, and cargo commodities (ores, refined metals,
+RMC, construction materials, …) are browsable with search, manufacturer / type /
+size filters, pagination, and a detail view per item.
 
 Users can optionally create an account and build a **personal inventory**: items
 from the catalog are added to their own list with a quantity and notes. The
@@ -22,8 +23,10 @@ dataset can be replaced wholesale without touching user data.
 | database | PostgreSQL 16                          | Accounts, sessions, and per-user inventory rows            |
 | deploy   | Ansible + Podman (containers.podman)   | Builds images and runs the three containers                |
 
-The backend image downloads the full scunpacked dataset (~83 MB) at build time,
-so the catalog needs no database — only user data does.
+The backend image downloads the full scunpacked dataset at build time, then
+reduces `items.json` to a small `commodities.json` (one entry per commodity) and
+discards the ~68 MB raw file, so the catalog needs no database — only user data
+does.
 
 ## Layout
 
@@ -172,7 +175,7 @@ curl -fsS -b cookies.txt http://localhost:8080/api/v1/me/inventory
 cd trade-hub/backend
 python3 -m venv .venv
 .venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt -r requirements-dev.txt
-.venv/bin/python -m pytest tests/ -q          # 59 tests, no database needed
+.venv/bin/python -m pytest tests/ -q          # 65 tests, no database needed
 DATA_DIR=./data/samples .venv/bin/uvicorn main:app --port 8000
 ```
 
@@ -182,6 +185,11 @@ so no PostgreSQL server is required for the suite. Production uses PostgreSQL.
 - `data/samples/` — small real-schema subset for local dev/tests
 - `scripts/fetch_data.py` — downloads the full dataset (used by the Dockerfile)
 
+Commodities are deduplicated to one catalog entry per name (the 1 SCU container
+variant is canonical); quantity lives on the inventory row, so 1 SCU, 8 SCU and
+32 SCU crates of the same commodity share a single entry. Refined and unrefined
+materials stay separate (`Iron` vs `Iron (Ore)`).
+
 Tables are created on startup with an idempotent `create_all` and a connection
 retry loop, so a fresh volume bootstraps itself and a slow PostgreSQL start does
 not crash the backend. Additive columns for existing deployments (currently
@@ -213,7 +221,8 @@ GET    /api/v1/available?category=&search=&sort=&page=&page_size=
 
 `/api/v1/me/*` requires a valid session cookie and returns `401` otherwise.
 `/api/v1/available` is public and read-only; it accepts `sort=name|category|quantity|updated`
-(default `updated`).
+(default `updated`). Catalog `category` values are `ships`, `ship-items`,
+`fps-items` and `commodities`.
 
 ### Configuration
 
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/Dockerfile b/trade-hub/backend/Dockerfile
index b5e4686..f8fcc87 100644
--- a/trade-hub/backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/trade-hub/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt
 
 COPY . .
 
-# Download the full scunpacked dataset (~83 MB) at build time so the image
-# is self-contained; DATA_DIR points the API at it.
+# Download the full scunpacked dataset at build time so the image is
+# self-contained; fetch_data.py reduces items.json to commodities.json.
 RUN python scripts/fetch_data.py --output-dir /app/data/full
 ENV DATA_DIR=/app/data/full
 
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/api.py b/trade-hub/backend/app/api.py
index e0a4726..93495bc 100644
--- a/trade-hub/backend/app/api.py
+++ b/trade-hub/backend/app/api.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ app.include_router(auth_router)
 app.include_router(inventory_router)
 app.include_router(available_router)
 
-VALID_CATEGORIES = {"ships", "ship-items", "fps-items"}
+VALID_CATEGORIES = {"ships", "ship-items", "fps-items", "commodities"}
 
 
 def _filter_items(category, search, manufacturer, item_type, size):
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/app/loader.py b/trade-hub/backend/app/loader.py
index 64666db..90235ef 100644
--- a/trade-hub/backend/app/loader.py
+++ b/trade-hub/backend/app/loader.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ PLACEHOLDER = "<= PLACEHOLDER =>"
 CATEGORY_SHIPS = "ships"
 CATEGORY_SHIP_ITEMS = "ship-items"
 CATEGORY_FPS_ITEMS = "fps-items"
+CATEGORY_COMMODITIES = "commodities"
 
 
 def _load_json(data_dir, filename):
@@ -111,6 +112,8 @@ def _normalize_item(item, category):
         "description": std.get("Description") or std.get("DescriptionText") or "",
         "tags": tags,
     }
+    if category == CATEGORY_COMMODITIES:
+        summary["size"] = None
     details = {
         "ports": std.get("Ports") or [],
         "mass": std.get("Mass"),
@@ -133,6 +136,9 @@ class Store:
             CATEGORY_SHIPS: sum(1 for i in items if i["category"] == CATEGORY_SHIPS),
             CATEGORY_SHIP_ITEMS: sum(1 for i in items if i["category"] == CATEGORY_SHIP_ITEMS),
             CATEGORY_FPS_ITEMS: sum(1 for i in items if i["category"] == CATEGORY_FPS_ITEMS),
+            CATEGORY_COMMODITIES: sum(
+                1 for i in items if i["category"] == CATEGORY_COMMODITIES
+            ),
         }
 
 
@@ -157,6 +163,11 @@ def load_store(data_dir=None):
         items.append(summary)
         details[summary["class_name"]] = detail
 
+    for entry in _load_json(data_dir, "commodities.json"):
+        summary, detail = _normalize_item(entry, CATEGORY_COMMODITIES)
+        items.append(summary)
+        details[summary["class_name"]] = detail
+
     # Deterministic order so pagination is stable.
     items.sort(key=lambda i: (i["category"], i["name"].lower(), i["class_name"]))
 
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/scripts/fetch_data.py b/trade-hub/backend/scripts/fetch_data.py
index 5d65f8d..ee0582d 100644
--- a/trade-hub/backend/scripts/fetch_data.py
+++ b/trade-hub/backend/scripts/fetch_data.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ Usage:
 Default output: backend/data/full (used by the Docker image build).
 """
 import argparse
+import json
 import os
 import sys
 import urllib.request
@@ -16,7 +17,38 @@ FILES = [
     "ship-items.json",
     "fps-items.json",
     "manufacturers.json",
+    "items.json",
 ]
+COMMODITY_KEYS = ("className", "name", "type", "subType", "reference")
+PLACEHOLDER = "<= PLACEHOLDER =>"
+
+
+def _commodity_rank(entry):
+    class_name = entry.get("className") or ""
+    return (0 if "_1SCU_" in class_name else 1, entry.get("size") or 0, class_name)
+
+
+def build_commodities(items_path, out_path):
+    with open(items_path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
+        items = json.load(f)
+
+    grouped = {}
+    for entry in items:
+        class_name = (entry.get("className") or "").lower()
+        name = (entry.get("name") or "").strip()
+        if entry.get("type") != "Cargo" or "commodity" not in class_name:
+            continue
+        if not name or name == PLACEHOLDER:
+            continue
+        grouped.setdefault(name, []).append(entry)
+
+    commodities = [
+        {key: best.get(key) for key in COMMODITY_KEYS}
+        for best in (min(grouped[name], key=_commodity_rank) for name in sorted(grouped))
+    ]
+    with open(out_path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+        json.dump(commodities, f, ensure_ascii=False, separators=(",", ":"))
+    return len(commodities)
 
 
 def main():
@@ -35,6 +67,13 @@ def main():
         urllib.request.urlretrieve(url, dest)
         size = os.path.getsize(dest)
         print(f"  done ({size / 1_000_000:.1f} MB)", flush=True)
+
+    items_path = os.path.join(args.output_dir, "items.json")
+    count = build_commodities(
+        items_path, os.path.join(args.output_dir, "commodities.json")
+    )
+    os.remove(items_path)
+    print(f"Wrote {count} commodities (items.json discarded)", flush=True)
     return 0
 
 
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_api.py b/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_api.py
index d5eed93..629bb2c 100644
--- a/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_api.py
+++ b/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_api.py
@@ -11,14 +11,24 @@ def test_healthz():
     assert resp.status_code == 200
     body = resp.json()
     assert body["status"] == "ok"
-    assert body["counts"] == {"ships": 2, "ship-items": 2, "fps-items": 1}
+    assert body["counts"] == {
+        "ships": 2,
+        "ship-items": 2,
+        "fps-items": 1,
+        "commodities": 4,
+    }
 
 
 def test_stats():
     resp = client.get("/api/v1/stats")
     assert resp.status_code == 200
     body = resp.json()
-    assert body["categories"] == {"ships": 2, "ship-items": 2, "fps-items": 1}
+    assert body["categories"] == {
+        "ships": 2,
+        "ship-items": 2,
+        "fps-items": 1,
+        "commodities": 4,
+    }
     assert body["manufacturers"] == 4
 
 
@@ -33,11 +43,11 @@ def test_items_default_pagination():
     resp = client.get("/api/v1/items")
     assert resp.status_code == 200
     body = resp.json()
-    assert body["total"] == 5
+    assert body["total"] == 9
     assert body["page"] == 1
     assert body["page_size"] == 25
     assert body["total_pages"] == 1
-    assert len(body["items"]) == 5
+    assert len(body["items"]) == 9
 
 
 def test_items_page_size_capped():
@@ -155,3 +165,29 @@ def test_deterministic_sort_order():
     body = client.get("/api/v1/items", params={"page_size": 100}).json()
     keys = [(i["category"], i["name"].lower()) for i in body["items"]]
     assert keys == sorted(keys)
+
+
+def test_items_category_filter_commodities():
+    resp = client.get("/api/v1/items", params={"category": "commodities"})
+    assert resp.status_code == 200
+    body = resp.json()
+    assert body["total"] == 4
+    assert all(i["category"] == "commodities" for i in body["items"])
+
+
+def test_items_search_matches_refined_and_ore_iron():
+    resp = client.get("/api/v1/items", params={"search": "iron"})
+    body = resp.json()
+    assert body["total"] == 2
+    assert {i["name"] for i in body["items"]} == {"Iron", "Iron (Ore)"}
+
+
+def test_item_detail_commodity():
+    resp = client.get("/api/v1/items/Carryable_TBO_FL_1SCU_Commodity_Metal_Ore_Iron")
+    assert resp.status_code == 200
+    body = resp.json()
+    assert body["name"] == "Iron (Ore)"
+    assert body["category"] == "commodities"
+    assert body["type"] == "Cargo"
+    assert body["size"] is None
+    assert isinstance(body["details"], dict)
diff --git a/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_inventory.py b/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_inventory.py
index 5ced3d1..bf8cd2b 100644
--- a/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_inventory.py
+++ b/trade-hub/backend/tests/test_inventory.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ from app.api import app
 PASSWORD = "correct horse battery staple"
 CARROCK = "ANVL_Carrack"
 RIFLE = "BEHR_Rifle_Ballistic_01"
+IRON_ORE = "Carryable_TBO_FL_1SCU_Commodity_Metal_Ore_Iron"
 
 
 def authed_client(username: str = "alice") -> TestClient:
@@ -251,3 +252,15 @@ def test_sort_defaults_to_name_and_rejects_unknown_values():
     listing = client.get("/api/v1/me/inventory").json()
     assert [i["class_name"] for i in listing["items"]] == [CARROCK]
     assert client.get("/api/v1/me/inventory?sort=bogus").status_code == 422
+
+
+def test_add_commodity_uses_catalog_name_and_quantity():
+    client = authed_client("refiner")
+    resp = add(client, IRON_ORE, quantity=12, notes="from Aaron Halo")
+    assert resp.status_code == 201
+    entry = client.get("/api/v1/me/inventory").json()["items"][0]
+    assert entry["name"] == "Iron (Ore)"
+    assert entry["category"] == "commodities"
+    assert entry["quantity"] == 12
+    assert entry["available"] is True
+    assert entry["visibility"] == "private"
diff --git a/trade-hub/frontend/src/app.js b/trade-hub/frontend/src/app.js
index 79952a8..42b0600 100644
--- a/trade-hub/frontend/src/app.js
+++ b/trade-hub/frontend/src/app.js
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ async function initHeader() {
     const c = health.counts || {};
     els["stats-line"].textContent =
       `${c.ships ?? 0} ships · ${c["ship-items"] ?? 0} ship items · ` +
-      `${c["fps-items"] ?? 0} FPS items`;
+      `${c["fps-items"] ?? 0} FPS items · ${c.commodities ?? 0} commodities`;
   } catch {
     els["api-status"].textContent = "API OFFLINE";
     els["api-status"].className = "status-pill offline";
@@ -239,7 +239,12 @@ function buildQuery() {
 }
 
 function categoryBadge(category) {
-  const labels = { ships: "Ship", "ship-items": "Ship Item", "fps-items": "FPS Item" };
+  const labels = {
+    ships: "Ship",
+    "ship-items": "Ship Item",
+    "fps-items": "FPS Item",
+    commodities: "Commodity",
+  };
   return `<span class="badge cat-${category}">${labels[category] || category}</span>`;
 }
 
@@ -457,7 +462,12 @@ async function refreshSummary() {
 }
 
 function renderInventorySummary(summary) {
-  const labels = { ships: "ships", "ship-items": "ship items", "fps-items": "FPS items" };
+  const labels = {
+    ships: "ships",
+    "ship-items": "ship items",
+    "fps-items": "FPS items",
+    commodities: "commodities",
+  };
   const parts = Object.entries(summary.categories || {})
     .map(([key, qty]) => `${qty} ${labels[key] || key}`)
     .join(" · ");
diff --git a/trade-hub/frontend/src/index.html b/trade-hub/frontend/src/index.html
index f30b381..cef6856 100644
--- a/trade-hub/frontend/src/index.html
+++ b/trade-hub/frontend/src/index.html
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
     <button class="tab" data-view="catalog" data-category="ships">Ships</button>
     <button class="tab" data-view="catalog" data-category="ship-items">Ship Equipment</button>
     <button class="tab" data-view="catalog" data-category="fps-items">FPS Items</button>
+    <button class="tab" data-view="catalog" data-category="commodities">Commodities</button>
     <button class="tab tab-mine" id="tab-mine" data-view="mine">My Inventory</button>
     <button class="tab" id="tab-available" data-view="available">Available</button>
   </nav>
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@
         <option value="ships">Ships</option>
         <option value="ship-items">Ship Equipment</option>
         <option value="fps-items">FPS Items</option>
+        <option value="commodities">Commodities</option>
       </select>
       <select id="inv-sort" aria-label="Sort inventory">
         <option value="name">Sort: Name</option>
@@ -106,6 +108,7 @@
         <option value="ships">Ships</option>
         <option value="ship-items">Ship Equipment</option>
         <option value="fps-items">FPS Items</option>
+        <option value="commodities">Commodities</option>
       </select>
       <select id="avail-sort" aria-label="Sort available items">
         <option value="updated">Sort: Recently updated</option>
diff --git a/trade-hub/frontend/src/style.css b/trade-hub/frontend/src/style.css
index 4b399d2..9894ce8 100644
--- a/trade-hub/frontend/src/style.css
+++ b/trade-hub/frontend/src/style.css
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
   --cat-ships: #38bdf8;
   --cat-ship-items: #a78bfa;
   --cat-fps-items: #f59e0b;
+  --cat-commodities: #4ade80;
 }
 
 * { box-sizing: border-box; }
@@ -215,6 +216,7 @@ main {
 .badge.cat-ships { color: var(--cat-ships); border-color: var(--cat-ships); }
 .badge.cat-ship-items { color: var(--cat-ship-items); border-color: var(--cat-ship-items); }
 .badge.cat-fps-items { color: var(--cat-fps-items); border-color: var(--cat-fps-items); }
+.badge.cat-commodities { color: var(--cat-commodities); border-color: var(--cat-commodities); }
 .badge.size { color: var(--text-dim); border-color: var(--border); }
 .item-classification { color: var(--text-dim); font-size: 0.78rem; font-family: ui-monospace, monospace; }