After a year of falling prices, Corus have written to us announcing steel sections are going up £25-a-tonne from 4 October.
Given that our clients are asking us to cut prices I'm not sure where that leaves us.
I think the term is 'shot by both sides'.
Yeah, it's a tough one to swallow. But you've hit upon something there: "after a year of falling prices". I'm going to look at the upside and say that at least this is another sign that the economy is starting to pick up and we are seeing a rise in demand for steel. Besides, unless you're competing against a firm that bulk-bought when prices were historically low, everyone will be in the same boat. Don't get me wrong, I don't like to see the price of anything rising but prices have been falling for a long time, as you said. They have to pick up a bit eventually.
Look on the bright side!
Sheffield has a lovely shopping centre now and Liverpool makes lots of money loading our recycled steel onto boats heading for China!
Work it our for yourself!
'shot by both sides' yes very much so.
I guess that means re-bar has gone up also.
from a structural steel section point of view there is not much you can do about it unless you are in a position to buy a ship load.
i had a good look into re-bar prices last year when the cost was going through the roof and there are savings to be made here.
but most contractors seem to prefer to sub it out to the re-bar fabrication factories and pay the going rate per / t to cut and bend the straight bars.
that a lot of these cut and bend factories are now owned by major steel mills ..... go figure!
steam boss