Final Thoughts

We should see the pace of the price increases slow down as most mills are getting the announced minimum price levels from their spot buyers ($25.00-$26.00/cwt HR, $35.00/cwt cold rolled and coated). The market needs a couple of weeks to absorb the increases and push them down to the end users and resale spot customers.

I spoke with an HVAC wholesaler this afternoon about their ability to collect price increases from their mechanical contractor customers. The reason why I reached out to a wholesaler is due to my relationship with the group through my HARDI membership. HVAC mechanical contractors have become the bottom of the spot market over the years (due to too many companies supplying the same products to the industry). What the wholesaler told me today was, “We haven’t seen anything like this in at least four years. It’s not a runaway train like it has been in the past but, we are getting our number.”