Late 2017 Steel Prices

[rswyan]

I just got quote on some steel for a project I am quoting on ... wow ...

One quote is from a supplier I have used almost exclusively in the past, the other was from an outfit I've never used before but have repeatedly seen their monthly ads on CL, where they usually post a list of about 50 - 60 (a guess) or so common sizes and shapes (square tube, angle, plate, etc.) with pricing.

The first quote was via email and the second I just called and spoke the guy since it was a fairly short list.

From talking to the guy at the second place, he said steel generally is up since the election (this is not meant to be a political thread so don't go there - I'm just relaying what I was told) He also said anyone sitting on any kind of tube (square, rectangular, pipe) acquired before the price spike is sitting on gold ... prices are up about 50% since November.

The quotes were a mix - some items were cheaper or more expensive @ one place versus the other. That may be based on a "new inventory" vs "old inventory" thing.

A couple of examples:

A 24' stick of 2 1/2" x 1/4" wall square tube: $145.68 vs. $150.96. My cost in May 2016: $96.72 (50% increase on the cheaper price)

A sheet 5' x 10' x 1/4" plate: $254 @ the one place vs. $335.35 at the other (33% difference in cost) ... and the first (cheaper) price included 3 or so cuts on the shear in the price quoted ...

It is also cheaper (per sq. ft or by the pound) than what I paid back in Aug 2014 for a 4' x 8' sheet of 1/4" plate.

The shear work (not included in their quoted price) at the higher priced place was $18 for the first cut and then $3 each additional.

About the only nice thing to come out of it, was that I found out that the place I had never dealt with has a bunch of shearing equipment (11 shears) ... and offers some services that the other place doesn't (brake bending, laser cutting) ... and they appear to be reasonable.

 

[tomplum]

I watch the Craigslit like a hawk for steel tube. I did get an awesome deal on a ton and half of 2 1/2 x 1/2" flat bar a couple months back, but generally individuals seem to go out of their way to not make it worth your time. Sometimes. When it comes right down to it, if you are fabbing something you can buy- cost wise you're better off to buy it and change it for your needs. Crazy.

 

[Whatswrong]

Local welder told me today that he uses $1.00 Can per pound as a cost for steel ,but as of this week he has to buy a minimum of 2000 lbs. to get free freight when they deliver to local factory .
The reason we had that conversation was because he didn't have what I need when he went for it .

 

[otlski]

Here in CT, Logan Steel has a surplus shed. They change a buck a pound for most structural shapes.

 

[rswyan]

The guy I actually talked to today said "We used to be able to just run up to the mill in Cleveland ..." and then never finished the thought.

Later it made me wonder what he was referring to ... recent mill closings or older ones?

Or something else altogether?

 

[bigtiller]

I just bought a 12"by24" piece of 26 gauge galvanized sheet metal. Cost me $9 with tax at my local farm store. Ouch!!

 

[Ken45101]

I just bought a 12"by24" piece of 26 gauge galvanized sheet metal. Cost me $9 with tax at my local farm store. Ouch!!

Typically big box stores, farm stores, etc. will be much, much higher for the small pieces they carry.

 

[tomplum]

The stick of 2.5 square tube is ~ 180 pounds. So it is closer to 80 cents a pound. The majority of the drops at my local yard I think are 60 or 65 cents a pound. The bin before it hits recycle 30 cents. They never ever sell schedule 40 pipe as drops. Lots of plate, channel and a good selection of rectangular, sometimes square tube when you don't need it.

 

[mark in portugal]

Here in Portugal I pay around 80 euro cents per kilo before tax, which is an additional 23%
Free delivery way out at my farm, they deliver to my area on Thursdays, every week.
So if I order Wednesday, I get free NEXT DAY delivery.
On the other hand, if I order Thursday I have to wait a week.

So that's 53 US cents per pound.
I buy from a big supplier, sometimes just a single piece [I don't ask for delivery unless I'm buying at least 100 pounds].
Their minimum is 1 length; 1/4" rod, or a half ton beam, they'll happily sell you one.

Pipe and tube is a bit more expensive than open profiles or plate, maybe 25% more.

I have bought steel by the ton for my own use; then I press for a sharp price. During the steel glut of [I think] 2000, I paid 45 euro cents a kilo and bought 8 tons for a project I was doing. so something like 20 US cents a pound

 

[Stimw]

I have always found steel suppliers to have a "Take it or leave it" attitude if you are not buying by the ton.
You need to watch prices on pipe fittings!
I needed some 1/4" close nipples- $1.79 EACH! With CNC they can turn them out by the thousands!
I have a large assortment of fittings that are now very valuable!

 

[ArtMech]

Here in LTU we pay €600-€900 per metric ton with VAT for structural steel made in Check republic, Poland or Russia. Swedish or other Western steel is much more expensive, could be €2000 per ton or more with VAT excluded.

 

[mark in portugal]

Having worked on 3 continents, I've found that it's a matter of finding the right suppliers; I always make friends with local professionals, and they tell me where to go.
Sometimes you need a commercial account, but usually there's somewhere that offers real prices to walk-in customers.

Plumbing fittings of all sorts have massive markups, and huge room for discounting. As someone said, you have to watch those prices. When you buy 1 or 2 items, you hardly notice; but when you build an irrigation system or plumb a house, then you do.

Wiring and infrastructure material too. Often the book retail rate is 600% of the wholesale rate, what I call "government" price. Contractors can charge the high rate and point at the book, but the educated buyer doesn't pay that. Automated manufacture has reduced the wholesale prices and boosted the quality of a lot of things that used to be expensive.

Raw steel is just really cheap, and there are variations in quality but it's almost always in the physical shape [straightness], not the material.
You pay for stocking, delivering, cutting, and billing.

 

[rswyan]

The stick of 2.5 square tube is ~ 180 pounds. So it is closer to 80 cents a pound. The majority of the drops at my local yard I think are 60 or 65 cents a pound. The bin before it hits recycle 30 cents. They never ever sell schedule 40 pipe as drops. Lots of plate, channel and a good selection of rectangular, sometimes square tube when you don't need it.

The supplier that I have been using had an Ebay store at one time where they offered their drops. IIRC, it was very pricey, shipping was an additional cost of course.

They eventually discontinued it, as apparently keeping up the listings wasn't worth their time.

It seems to me - even before the Ebay store - that they weren't really offering any "deals" on drops ... with the prices being significantly more than full length pieces per pound.

 

[theonlybull]

here in nova scotia, i pay about $0.80 canadian per pound, a little more for tube, a little less for other shapes. this has been pretty constant over the last 10-12 years. i have one supplier, who delivers (they have a minimum order, but i buy enough, they will send what ever i need)
i do buy 10,000.00-15,000.00$ per year on average from them though