The Price of Steel Keeps Rising

From what I have heard the price of steel in China heavily influences steel costs and is impacting the bottom line of virtually every construction project.

The price of steel has skyrocketed primarily because of the large demand for the product in China. As the world's most populous country continues to expand, the requests for new buildings increase, resulting in a construction boom exploding in cities like Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai, says Daniel Meyer from Business First.

From 1997 to 2003, China increased steel consumption from 100 million tons to nearly 260 million tons; the latter a figure that is nearly double the total consumption in the U.S.

At this point it is unknown what the future direction of prices will be because of uncertainty when it comes to the long-term factors of price changes within the steel industry.

The best Ace Tool can do for our customers is to try to get them price breaks when they buy a skid of nails. A skid consist of anywhere from 40 -48 boxes of nails. So if a box of nails costs $30 and you buy a skid of nails for $25 a box. This may last for the next couple of months and in the next couple of months when the same box now costs $35 you still have it for $25.