Re: [TowerTalk] Rise in steel prices?

[edoc <kd4e@arrl.net>]

I have been discussing this with a friend who sells steel pipe
internationally.  They have already taken a 40% increase and
are expecting another 40% real soon.

They are already on quotas with their suppliers -- regular
customers may order what they have in the past, but no more,
-- others have to wait in line for any left-overs.

The problem with China is that they are reportedly flush
with cash from WalMart, the dollar stores, and others and
don't need to export steel -- so they are building a huge
steel city and are buying up production and scrap all over
the world.

Meanwhile the realities of economic efficiency, labor costs,
environmental regulations, and legal expenses have caused
a reduction of steel mill production here over the past
30 years -- therefore we are unable to compensate for the
shortages by ramping-up production in the near term.

This will be a threat to resources and prices across all
industries that use steel, not just tower manufacturers.

Oil and steel both causing trouble at the same time, not good.

The oil price increase is political (most oil-rich countries
are ruled by religious or neo-marxist tyrants and they don't
like us setting the people of Iraq free to rejoin the oil
marketplace), the steel increase is merely a function of the
marketplace (We buy too much cheap Chinese junk!).

Not much we can do at the moment, other than restrict the
outflow of new and scrap steel from the USA, and to try to
get some new plants online real fast!

doc

UpTheTower@aol.com wrote:
>     Here's some scuttlebutt from the Tower-Pro reflector. I'm sure that 
> this'll affect tower prices at some point.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve    K7LXC
> TOWER TECH 
>
>
> > >  From: "Dan Simmonds" <dan@anwireless.com>
>
>
> > > Raw steel prices in the US are climbing just as fast, if not faster, than
>
> fuel prices.
>
> This time last year we were paying roughly $22.20 cwt (per hundred weight)
> for steel. Today we are paying upwards of $44.00 cwt for the same material
> used in our manufacturing.
>
> Reason for this is, is that a huge amount of the US generated scrap steel is
> now China-bound, which leaves domestic steel mills will less and less scrap
> to process back into recycled steel. >>
> _______________________________________________

--
Thanks! & 73, doc kd4e
West Central Florida
Op. Atlas, Drake, Hallicrafters, TenTec ...
p.s. Linux-incompatible hardware is defective!
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