Steel Prices are Up ... Along With (Seemingly) Everything Else!

Steel is everywhere – in the vehicles you drive, the buildings you live and work in, even the pots and pans you cook with.

So when the cost of steel rises, so does the price you pay for … well … lots of things. The numbers on purchase receipts haven’t been just a bad dream … unfortunately.

All of us at 3Up Metal Works feel these jumps acutely. We work with steel every day. We’re doing everything in our power to navigate these price fluctuations, and deliver our customers, in Milwaukee and elsewhere, quality metal-fabricated products at a reasonable cost.

Steel prices were already rising in early 2022. They’ve gone completely haywire since Russia invaded Ukraine Feb. 24. Events half a world away are being felt right here at home. Benchmark U.S. steel costs have risen more than 50 percent since the fateful day.

They’re unlikely to come down anytime soon – and, in fact, might keep rising. Why?

·       Ukraine was the world’s eighth-largest exporter of steel. Those shipments have stopped – completely.

·       Many nations have slapped embargoes on Russia, another large steel exporter.

·       Electric arc furnaces, which produce a majority of American steel, rely on Ukraine and Russia for a huge percentage of raw materials.

·       With Russian and Ukrainian materials dried up, demand has skyrocketed for high-grade scrap iron, which comes primarily from … the U.S.

·       Energy costs to produce and transport steel have risen substantially (perhaps you’ve noticed at the gas pump?)

·       Construction and manufacturing activities burgeoned as the pandemic waned, increasing demand for steel shortly before international events sent its prices skyward.

Suffice to say, the cataclysmic events in eastern Europe have rippled far and wide. This article from The Fabricator, a steel industry trade publication, digs a bit deeper. Enjoy at your own risk – and buckle in for continued uncertainty!