Structural steel prices bend with stagnant demand

The combination of stagnant global demand, ample worldwide steel production capacity, and ever-increasing competition from imports has kept the lid on structural steel prices during the past two years, and this benign trend has continued into the early months of 2002.

Average prices for fabricated structural metal products used in construction eased a slight 0.1 percent during February 2002, after falling 0.2 percent the month before. And average structural building metal prices this February stood 1.8 percent lower than during the same month in 2001.

Buyers paid an average of 1.6 percent less for structural steel used during 2001 than in 2000. But between 1999 and 2000, average structural metal costs rose by 2.6 percent.

Although newly instituted tariffs on U.S. steel imports will put some upward pressure on average prices across the board, products used by the construction sector have been largely spared any significant extra duties (See BD&C, 4/02, page 13). Consequently, it is unlikely that structural steel prices will fall much further this year, so average contract prices during 2002 should be little changed from 2001's comparatively affordable level.