$$$steel$$$

[CWebster]

Just a heads up to you guys that purchase steel... it's going up, WAY up. Most of my suppliers are holding their price until 1/31, but after that everythings is going up about 20% in Feb. , and another round of increases in March (another 20% possibly). Stainless will get more of an increase than mild steel. As a lot of guys know, scrap prices have gone up considerably, which is pushing steel prices up. Also, the coke that is used to fire the furnaces has jumped from like $40-50/ton up to $180-190/ton :--)

So, if you use a decent amount of steel for personal use, or in your business, it might be wise to stock up.



*Disclaimer* Percentages and $/ton numbers are different from supplier to supplier and are different regionally... . it's all going up, it will just vary depending upon where you live and the amount of previous stock your supplier has.



FYI



Chris Webster

 

[moparguy]

Chris, that's surprising. I expected the price of steel to drop with the changes in trade tariffs.



Thanks for the heads up.



RJR

 

[CWebster]

Yeah, I initially thought the same thing. China is where the bulk of the problem is originating. It's their coke prices that are driving up the costs, and coupled with the rising scrap prices here, it's pushing the steel price up. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a connection between tariffs and the "sudden" increase in manufacturing costs from China.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

Thanks for posting this CWebster. I copied the thread and gave it to my boss.



We buy 10' bars of plain steel. From 2"OD to 8"OD.

 

[CWebster]

Price increase's came early, hoooorrraayyy!!! J/K I love the steel industry. Steel went up from $27/cwt (27 cents/pound) to $30/cwt a week ago, and then it just went up to $33/cwt yesterday (structural). Goin' to $35/cwt in a couple more weeks. Mills have reduced their quote "hold" time from 10 days to 48 hours, which tells me the next increase can come at any time. Any opportunity to gouge the customer... .

 

[fencebuilders]

Received a letter from a supplier today informing us of a 15% increase effective immediately,couple that with the same letter two weeks ago from the same supplier informing us of a 25% increase,we have seen a 40% increase. This hurts

 

[CWebster]

YEah, this is ridiculous. These steel prices are restricting growth in a bad way. Paid 21. 9 cents/lb for 2 1/2 sq 3 months ago, quoted 59. 9 cents/lb yesterday!!!!!!!! Rape comes to mind...