Katrina WILL impact steel prices

[Sigarms]

Major steel mills, yesterday announced a 10% increase in base prices and a return to "price in effect at time of shipment invoicing". Most will also be adding fuel sur-charges.

Another anouncement is the supply of Hydrogen, "an important component to all gas fired hot dipped galvanizing lines and thier furnaces"".

Guess what?, the major supplier of hydrogen to the steel mills is Air Products in Louisiana. Air Products is currently under 6' of water (guess why?).

There is a second plant located in Canada that is scheduled to be shut down for safty issues today. Time frame has already been extended for two months by the Canadian authorities (#$%# Canadians, and I can say that, I used to live in upstate N.Y!).

It is expected that current supplies, if not augmented with new hydrogen will run out in 8-10 days. This can result in some closing of the steel mills in the U.S.

On my end, the "sky is falling" on flat steel prices. The question now is now what will I charge, but can I get it.

Not sure how the tractor manufacturers (sp?) get thier steel, but... the good old trickle down effect.

Have to laugh. There was a thread here recently how China was going to "dump" steel in the U.S.

Let me know where, and I'll buy some.

 

[MadReferee]

I posted here last month that my steel supplier told me that a fuel surcharge was going to be implemented by the mills on Sept 1. Based on my invoices, the price of steel then was about 10% lower than it was in the spring. Most of the steel here in the northeast comes from Canada. I got enough to last into the winter so I m not worried yet.

 

[Knight9]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( (#$%# Canadians, and I can say that, I used to live in upstate N.Y!).
)</font>

Really? I thought you couldn't say something like that unless you were Canadian. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Kevin

 

[slowrev]

Not sure how the tractor manufacturers (sp?) get thier steel, but... the good old trickle down effect.
//

Most of the tractors covered on this board are of foreign manufacture and or domestic assembly. Their steel will still be coming from overseas.

Ben

 

[SkyPup]

All steel, even rebar will be going up 20% this week if it has not already.

From 9/7/2005 Wall Street Journal:

"The price of steel used to make cars and industrial equipment is expected to rise by as much as 20% in coming months because New Orleans flooding has limited the supply and distribution of raw materials such as liquid hydrogen and scrap steel.

The increase would be in addition to roughly 20% price increases by steelmakers including Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel Corp. and Nucor Corp., of Charlotte, N.C., that became effective on Sept. 1 for shipments of key products like hot-rolled coil."

 

[milkman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( "The price of steel used to make cars and industrial equipment is expected to rise by as much as 20% )</font>

Good thing they're almost all plastic. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[NoiseGuy]

China is buying a lot of steel and concrete and helping drive the price up.