Steel Products
October 16, 2018
HARDI Members: 'Prices Could Go Either Way'
Written by Tim Triplett
With the market sending mixed signals, distributors of HVAC products are keeping inventories lean as they wait to see if the price increase just announced by the steel mills gains any traction. “You can make a case for prices to go either way,” said one member of the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) during the trade group’s monthly conference call on Tuesday.
Last week, most of the major flat rolled mills announced a price hike of $40 per ton on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized products. The Section 232 tariffs remain in place, keeping a lid on competition from steel imports. And the price of steel inputs, including iron ore, scrap and zinc, are all up. All those factors point to a likely rise in steel prices.
