Price of STEEL!!!!! OUCH!!

[Tuffbroadhead]

Over the past year I cannot believe how much the price of steel has gone up.........

Last year 8 inch c-perlin was 1.40 a foot
This year 8 inch c-perlin is 2.14 a foot!!!!!!

Only thing that stinks is I need 160 ft at 2.14 ft
And need to pick up 40ft of 2.5 x 2.5 x 1/4 angle at 2.80 ft...
and 14 sheets of r-deck at 630.80

You cannot even build a 20x40 carport without going broke nowdays....

[Rattler]

No lie, I remember when 1/16", 2" box tubing was $8 a stick...now it is like $21!

[hntndawg]

Steel has been climbing steady...glad I got my carport done when I did.

[doublearrow]

My knife steel has doubled in price. It sucks

[Siesta_King]

It is going to continue to get worse. I sell for a large machine shop. Low carbon and alloy surcharges went up another .11/lb this month and they are talking another one in July. The value of the dollar has shifted the import of metal to exporting somewhat. In some industries, it is not much of a savings to import anymore, but there are not as many manufacturing plants as there was 10 or 15 years ago so the ones who are still around are booked.

[1369]

If you think carbon steel is bad, then you really don't want to look at the price of 304 or 316 stainless.

[Huntindad]

tuffbroadhead... there is a place in Liberty Hill that is selling that stuff(I think)
It was on austin craigs list... under materials I think.

I will try to find the link... but you may want to check it out.

[Matthew]

If you think carbon steel is bad, then you really don't want to look at the price of 304 or 316 stainless.

304 SST has been at $2.85-$3.00 per lb for the past 6 months, and seems to be coming down...

Carbon steel has goon through the roof!! I bought 40,000 lbs of round bar on 4/28 for $0.55 per pound. Friday I got a quote for the same material and it was $0.89 per pound. It'll be over $1.00 before July......

[GR5]

It caused by the price of oil and corn

[Bill M]

The increases started in 2004. Here is one big reason and they continue to buy up all the scrap steel they can. I saw a program on this not long ago and the amount of steel in the stadium is astronomical.

Beijing National Stadium

A photo

I'm seeing old cars disappearing out of pastures here where I'm at. I found out they are selling them for scrap.

Like Mike says though, a bunch of the current increase could very well be fuel cost.

[Siesta_King]

Here is a economic report summary from April. May's just came out and oesn't look good. But, stainless especially low grades like the 18-8's are leveling and somewhat decreasing. And yes scrap is a huge market right now, so if you need to get rid of the rusted junk car off your property, right now is the time to do it and get paid for it!

Carbon steel is running rampant with no brake pads in sight on this locomotive to hyper-inflation town (population 8: oligopoly). This is due to raw material price surges. Iron ore was contracted at 65% in most areas of the world, with some agreeing to 71-75%, while the SPOT price is reaching 85%.

Stainless steel is creeping up slightly due to chromium and a slightly, but not sustaining recovery (channeling more specifically) in nickel prices. Chromium is expected rise ANOTHER 80% this year due to: mine disruptions related to South African power outages. Power companies in South Africa were expected to fix the problem by the end of the year, but now expect to fix it in 2010. In addition, the typical civilian unrest and corruption throughout many port and mining countries are adding renewed pressure, motivated by the natural price inflation.

All London Metal Exchange commodities, except for Nickel and Zinc are up noticeably y/y. Most of this is due to the unrelenting Chinese economy, which again posted over 10% GDP growth and 8% consumer inflation in Q1. Consider this 10% GDP growth against the estimates for 2007's Q1 growth to be 8% (which also came in over 10%) and it is very obvious China hasn't slowed down yet, in fact is still growing virtually exponentially upon its gargantuan growth.

[Siesta_King]

Here is May's Summary

Stainless Steel Market~

To repeat from last month, my forecast for continuing ferro-chrome prices continues to become a reality. Year over year, ferro-chrome is up 150%. While nickel has stabilized and runs in a channel pattern over the last six months, electricity and furnace costs continue to edge up. Overall stainless steel production looks to continue its growth over 2007 numbers.

Buying in Asia is expected to pick up next month and take nickel prices up 8%, reflecting a potential increase in stainless end-use product. I have upped my target expectation for Chinese S/S going into next month (see the Guarded box in blue). Chinese pricing changes quicker than North America, therefore North America's target expectation for next month remains low.



Carbon Steel Market~

The carbon steel market continues to explode with higher prices. The rise in scrap prices accelerated in the last two months. With the earthquake in China, one possibility is for higher steel demand to repair the regions affected and promote earthquake proofing across China. Coking coal prices are up 200% y/y.

[TxTechBowhunter]

You better buy that 8 inch purlin at 2.14 while you can, b/c it's about to get a lot worse.

[Draco]

The place in Liberty Hill is Absolute Demolition. They sell good used for half price. They have a huge bunch of 8" Z purlins now.

[Shiner]

heard through the grapevine that baling wire is over $100 a roll. Last year about $55