A word to the wise. I'm a Caterpillar Heavy Equipment Salesman, and my business revolves around the steel industry. Lately, I receive DAILY memos from suppliers indicating that they are implementing steel surcharges ranging from 6-18%, and likely even higher. The price of steel is escalating at rates never before seen for several reasons. 1. China has wrapped up a full 50% of the WORLD steel market for at least the next 24 months, as well as a very large percentage of Japans steel production. 2. The U.S. Government has consumed large amounts of the worlds steel market in its rebuilding efforts in Iraq and elsewhere that the bombs have been dropped. 3. The U.S. "produces" very little in the grand scheme of things today, especially steel. When was the last time you saw a steel mill in full production (or even in operation) in the U.S., so we are at the mercy of the world market. My point is we all better get out to the boneyards and backyards across America NOW and get the parts and doner cars we need because the price of scrap metal has DOUBLED in recent months from, I think, around $3 a pound to around $7 a pound! Crushed cars are becoming a hot commodity now due to their value, and the 1971 Buicks in the neighbors backyards across all of your hometowns are going to begin to RAPIDLY disappear. :ball: Trust me, the "Clunker" program has nothing on this, and thats a fact!
The political rhetoric didn't scare me. But now you're scaring me. Steel at $7 a pound... If that's right all the chrome bumpers in the junkyards are toast along with whatever they happen to be connected to.
The company i work for uses steel products on a daily basis and we have started to see 15-20% increases in the price of all metal products. other building materials are also skyrocketing. look for the cost of new homes to go up 20% over the next few months. Bob
I deal with steel everyday too. And I can attest to what Jim is talking about. Our steel prices went up 30% two times in 3 weeks!! Yes, I said 30% two times in 3 weeks. We buy mostly sheet steel ranging from 1/16" thick to 2" thick, and a wide array of structrual shapes (channels, angles, I-beams..etc) And the increase is pretty much across the board on all raw steel (and stainless & aluminum) materials. It's crazy. I can't believe this isn't getting national attention. This is going to be a major crisis within 8-12 months if something isn't done now. Mark my words. Every news channel you turn to is talking about Scott Peterson, Martha Stewert, and Micheal Jackson, while our steel prices are going through the roof!!! ou: Forget about cars in junkyards getting crushed. MORE people are going to start losing jobs, and factories will be closing because of this.
now is the time to sneak out and hook a chain to your neighbor's acura and pull it down to the local iron and steel recyclers:rant: do it for our old classics:TU:
We also deal in a fair volume of steel products. I've received notices of 10-15-20 % increases on various product lines we distribute. Virtually every single one of our vendors that has a product line with significant amounts of steel involved, have sent notices of increases like this. We also handle some lines of ag pumps that are primarily Italian in origin, and the dollar/Euro relationship has resulted in a 15% increase in our costs on those products this winter, after already receiving the annual price increases in the fall. We publish our annual sales catalog in January, and could have just left out prices this year, since a large % are no longer correct. We have not seen this in the 14 years I've been with my employer.
This thread is giving me a headache like a bad dream. Pinch me, I want to wake up and find out it is not true. Salvage yard guys will be cashing in. WAKE ME UP.
This thread is really making me mad Of course, I know there will always be a resource for parts and stuff, but why do they have to up-the charge on it?o No: I mean, it's bad enough just keeping our cars with gas in the tanks and fluids running through it, and now, when we go to get metal or steel, we have to pay more!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? This world is getting crazier by the second:af: -Cody
I think Jim's initial post is wrong. Local rates here are $3/100 lbs of car, not $3/lb. They went from $1.50 to $3 in the last 7 months. Most of our crushed cars go to Tampa where they are shredded and turned into rebar at the Tampa plant. Most of the rebar is going to Boston for the big underground highway project. Don't worry about the steel pricing affecting new cars, they are getting more plastic and composites and use less steel to reduce weight and increase mpg.
yes, i just reread the op, it must more like $3.00 per hundred pounds. at $3.00 per pound, a buick would bring over $ 9000.00 at the crusher. at that price, there wouldnt be any old cars left in the world. however, the point is well taken, scrap metal is high right now, and you best believe that the old cars are getting crushed at one heck of a rate. most junkyards dont want to have anything over 10 years old. if we dont buy up all the old cars & parts very soon, there wont be any. it is now our civic duty to go buy & save all the buick parts to save them from the crusher. correct me if my math is wrong, i just started my first cup of coffee. henry
Typo on my part. My point was that scrap prices have doubled, doesnt matter from what-to-what. I have 3 customers in the scrap business, and two just purchased new Caterpillar machines to handle their inventory, and the third is negotiating. These customers have been in this business for many years, and they are getting poised to jump on the extra revenue. Who cares what the price is per pound or per hundred, scrap steel prices have doubled, and are gonna go higher. These guys know I'm into older iron, and each has warned me to get in the boneyards now, cuz the old iron is about to start moving. Just thought I would pass it along, and wish you all the best.
i totally agree with your point jim. with scrap being so high, the old cars will get crushed. sad very sad. henry
That's for sure. Check at your local lumber yard/home improvement center on the price of say 3/4" plywood. Around $25-30 for a 4X8 sheet. I can remember it being $6-8. It's in short supply because of Iraq as I'm to understand. Just another thing to add to the list of skyrocketing prices.:ball:
There is a steel mill about 10 min from my house. I've been watching lots of 18 wheelers loaded with crushed cars enter the plant everyday. It's been a few years since I've seen that much activity.
We're seeing this here in MS too. My favorite local boneyard has been pancaking cars at an unprecedented rate lately. Also, the high price of steel bar has begun to erode the margins on many of our products here at TCI. So much so that I can see a price increase on the horizon. It's a trend that'll no doubt ripple through the automotive aftermarket industry. Our hobby is going to become more expensive. Add that to summertime gasoline prices expected to be in excess of $2.00/gal. and dwindling supplies of used parts due to crushing and it's depressing.
