Steel prices going up - yet again

[theonlybull]

just be glad you guys aren't in the business, i run a machine/welding shop, and the prices are killing us. you have to call for a quote every time you quote a job, and they are starting to give out 15 day quotes, instead of 30.....

everything steel is going up, bolts have over doubles, bearings are rising. even our welding rods came with a steel surcharge on them ........ what's a guy to do????

 

[Junkman]

Taylortractornut......... That crane truck that I was trying to give away that no one wanted until it went to the scrap yard was filled in back with all types of steel tubing and sheets. It was rusty and I have a problem with the wife if I try to keep anything like that around the house. If I had been paying attention, I would have hid it in the woods instead of sending it with the truck. I paid to get rid of the truck and it probably had at least a ton of steel in the dump body.... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[wroughtn_harv]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( everything steel is going up, bolts have over doubles, bearings are rising. even our welding rods came with a steel surcharge on them ........ what's a guy to do???? )</font>

We have to pass it on. And when you know the people as friends and neighbors that's hard to do.

My steel supplier has been crying big tears since 9-11-01. Our local economy has taken hit after hit since and the rest of the world's seems to be waking up. His business is with local businesses and do it yourselfers. The bigger guys buy from his suppliers.

As pointed out earlier, there's only so much steel made each month. When there's this much demand the price will go up. It's the only thing that will bring the demand and the supply back into balance.

In January I was buying two inch (2 3/8) schedule forty galvanized pipe for a dollar twenty five a foot. The other day I got some for a dollar sixty a foot. But a couple of months ago it was a dollar eighty five.

Our so called fence pipe, nominal schedule forty, black, I was getting last year for around eighty cents a foot. It's now a dollar thirty and for awhile was a dollar forty or so.

I guess it's life in the city when you're this close to the country.

 

[kensfarm]

"I've been ridiculed as a scrounger for decades"

I'm part the pack-rat club as well.. when the farmer who had rented the farm across the street had finish moving.. (I helped).. he said.. anything left was okay to take. I went to hauling stuff across the street that night.. until it started raining pretty good.. and it was 9pm.

My stash includes..

IH 4 row corn planter.. (nice steel tubing)
1 row corn harvestor(Pull type).. (could be restored)
275 gallon fuel tank on skids..
Old Cultivator..
36' Hay lift.. (working.. but needs a little fixing)
Wagon gear..
Old trailer..
Old bushhog..
Old manure bucket w/ very long teeth(18 inches)
30 foot large steal Ibeam(I've hit my **** head on it twice)
Cultipacker.. un-attached( I got the frame part too)
2 floation tires
Different pieces of pipe & solid metal pipes.. short ibeam pieces.

There's more over there.. just haven't had time to get it.. w/ steal prices still going up.. maybe this weekend would be a good time.. some see it as trash.. I think it's all good stuff!

 

[Taylortractornut]

Junkman thats probably the reason why iI chase the wild bar women instead of getting married lol I cant part with my treasure lol. Lots of college days got paid by selling tractor and combine parts and building things lol. Plus the goats have too much fun climbing on the stuff.
Kens Farm alot of that stuff sounds like my junk pile behind the shop. When I take a load to scrapyard I make shure that its all fits in 55 gallon drums. Nothing usable in it. As soon as you scrap your collection that darnedest idea will pop ito your head what you could use it for lol. Take care Taylor Lambert

 

[MadReferee]

An interesting note, FWIW.

I just finished moving about 900 lbs of steel that was delivered yesterday from my driveway into my garage. On all the 2.5" x 2.5" x 1/4" angle pieces was stamped (actually it looks like it was rolled/formed into) the word CANADA.

Maybe this means it was imported from Canada? And why the price was so high? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[andyfletcher]

Taylor:

Scrap prices for steel haven't kept up around here. Looks like they'll take advantage of the small guy every turn. They have gone up a couple of cents/lb, but that's all.

Find any gas pipe lately? That's the kind I'd like to get my hands on for trailer axles, but never seem lucky to find any.

Andy

 

[andyfletcher]

theonlybull:

Sorry to hear your hurting. Remeber back in the 70's when they closed down Bethlehem and other plants due to lack of business? Well time to get the smelters rolling again and create another market glut. Wishful thinking I know, Oh well /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[goodoleboy]

If the price of Osb and plywood went down I would be much happier building with it instead a steel building. I dont like the look of steel buildings, kinda industrial/gray but very cost effective.

 

[rswyan]

Today I just went and picked up most of the steel for the dump wagon I am building and along with a little extra for other miscellaneous needs. Here were the prices in NorthEast Ohio:

2 x 3 x 1/4 Box Tube @ $ .735/lb
1 1/2 x 3 x 3/16 Box Tube @ $ .745/lb
1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 3/16 Box Tube @ $ .70/lb (was fairly rusty)
1 x 1 x 1/8 Box Tube @ $ .795/lb
1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 3/16 Angle @ $ .61/lb
2' x 4' x 1/4 Hot Roll Plate @ .595/lb (surface rust)
2' x 4' x 16 gauge Hot Roll Sheet @ $ .695

I had another $34 in cut charges because of the sizes I needed and the fact that I was hauling it in my van (11' max with the rear door closed) Was about 406 lbs and the invoice totaled $365. The cuts for the most part were pretty ugly - not even close to true - recut all the ends this evening when I got home. On the otherhand all the pieces were slightly longer than the lengths I asked for.