Four Reasons Why Construction Steel Prices Are On the Rampage

Even as the U.S. steel industry fights to keep tariffs in place, the construction industry faces an ongoing struggle as rising materials prices, and steel in particular, eat away at profit margins and delay or halt some projects due to runaway construction costs. And relief is unlikely to come in any form soon. Anirban Basu, chief economist, Sage Policy Group, believes the industry is on the edge of the precipice, with a “tsunami of demand” ahead as the U.S. economy opens further and continues to drive up material prices.

Steel has seen particularly dramatic increases over the past year, with price growth expected to continue for the foreseeable future. According to the Q2 2021 update from Gordian’s Construction Cost Database, the price of structural steel has risen 91% since the fourth quarter of 2020, and is up 45% in the past quarter alone. A poll conducted by S&P Global Platts of 91 participants in its Steel Markets North America (SMNA) virtual conference…