The price of steel

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Greg_Lewis
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The price of steel

Post by Greg_Lewis »

QUICK! GET ME THE SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN! I looked on line for a couple of pieces of CRS and almost had a heart attack. All I need is a few inches of two sizes and thought I’d get a 3-foot piece of each just for stock. I knew prices were up but this is ridiculous. I found this in an on-line article about the situation:

The increasing demand for steel and reduced supply from lower domestic production and steel imports have reduced the inventory of steel on hand, resulting in its current sky-high price. For example, the June 2021 contract for steel has increased 185% from $568/ton last September to $1,620/ton in May. Steel is priced far above both the 2008 and 2018 peaks and is in the worst shape, from a supply basis, since at least the 1970s!

A 185 percent increase!

A scrapyard near me used to have a few acres at the front where they laid out stuff for pickers to sort through and buy by the pound. The last time I was there it was almost all gone. No wonder. Perhaps I should put my inventory up for sale!

I’m going to lie down now.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
armscor 1
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Re: The price of steel

Post by armscor 1 »

Us Aussies are making a killing on the stuff!
jcfx
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Re: The price of steel

Post by jcfx »

Yep prices have gone up,I took a look at a prices on McMaster for 4140 that I bought in 2017
a 2" dia -1/2 foot length in 2017 was $24.93, todays price for the same is $34.77, $ 9.84 ( approx. 28% ) hike in price.
rrnut-2
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Re: The price of steel

Post by rrnut-2 »

We are quoting a job right now that uses a lot of SS, price increase is 15%.

Jim B
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: The price of steel

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Well I have recovered somewhat, spending last evening lying on the couch with a cold compress on my forehead. :wink:

McMaster is not the cheapest source but I note that their prices are the same as Speedy Metals for what I need. But still, it would cost me just north of $50 (shipping included) for one piece of 1/4 x 2 x 36 and one piece 3/16 x 1.5 x 36 1018 CRS. Do you know how much beer I could buy for that much money? Perhaps I'll switch to making origami cranes.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: The price of steel

Post by warmstrong1955 »

I bought a bunch of 2" square tubing, 1/8" wall tubing last October. It was $61.73 per 20' stick.
Gotta quote a couple weeks ago for the same stuff. $145.90 per 20' stick.
I was told by my supplier, PDM, who covers several states in the west & pacific northwest, that prices have been going up.....weekly. Quote prices are limited to stock on hand, and therefore, may be invalid by the time they are received by the customer.
Weasel note on the quotes: "Prices is in effect at the time of shipment will prevail."
On top of that, delivery prices have gone up, for obvious reasons. I just got a notice stating such.
I will assume, when all this fabrication is approved, the steel prices are ALREADY higher. I have already told the client as such.

Tighten your seatbelts kids........
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
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liveaboard
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Re: The price of steel

Post by liveaboard »

I haven't bought any steel this year, I still have stock for now.
In the past, I bought 12 tons for a boat I renovated, that was just 23 cents a pound.
And tons of wood too, a few cubic yards of young teak.
Nice to think how much it's worth now.
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BadDog
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Re: The price of steel

Post by BadDog »

Luckily I still have a good stock of the stuff I use most. However, I needed about 8" of 2x4x1/4 structural for a suspension mount I was making and didn't have anything that would work. I got a 4' length from their shorts racks (avoids the partial/cut fees). I nearly passed out when they rang it up at ~$160! :shock:
Russ
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: The price of steel

Post by Greg_Lewis »

BadDog wrote: Thu Aug 05, 2021 11:39 am Luckily I still have a good stock of the stuff I use most. However, I needed about 8" of 2x4x1/4 structural for a suspension mount I was making and didn't have anything that would work. I got a 4' length from their shorts racks (avoids the partial/cut fees). I nearly passed out when they rang it up at ~$160! :shock:

GASP! Did they have to call an ambulance? :?

The article I quoted above went into quite a bit of detail about the market, the number and types of American steel mills, and various import duties that were imposed by the previous administration. It's a complicated issue but cause for concern if foreign sources dried up completely. I've been reading a lot of WWII history lately and wonder if we could launch today the manufacturing colossus that we had then.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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liveaboard
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Re: The price of steel

Post by liveaboard »

Articles I read stated the current price jump is due to supply chain kinks, the sudden demand as everyone gets back to work.
It's a long complex journey between the ore mine and the workshop.
Another factor is the steel glut we had for the last 10-20 years. There's been over capacity ever since the iron curtain was scrapped, and mills were competing strongly for market share.
Those days may well be over.
As everything gets moving again, prices will drop back for sure. But probably not all the way back.
RSG
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Re: The price of steel

Post by RSG »

liveaboard wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 5:31 pm In the past, I bought 12 tons for a boat I renovated, And tons of wood too,
What were you building, an Ark? :lol:
Vision is not seeing things as they are, but as they will be.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: The price of steel

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Sell the boat for scrap and you'd make a huge profit! :lol:
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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