Puzzling metal prices

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I moved from Texas to Pennsylvania about three years ago and was supprised that steel prices are about double compared to Texas.  Pennsylvania is known for producing steel and even has a football team called The Steelers.  I have called several places and the prices are high and I am wondering if there are places close to Pittsburgh that sell at a lesser rate.
Reply:I'm not real knowledgable about new steel, but I pay $00.20/lb for used steelin MI.
Reply:I would bet that the stuff you are seeing up there is all domestic, while the stuff here is Mexican or from Eastern Europe. I am even seeing some Chinese here now. Some of the I-beams are domestic. They ended up being cheaper for some reason. The domestic vs. import is the usual culprit in a huge price difference...but not the only one.
Reply:plus figure that most shops pay about twice as much for the same work or labor due to unions.I know that wwith 15 yrs experience im making 2 dollars more an hr then when i first started out in Pa..By the way what part of Pa are ya in?I havent been home for 11 or 12 yrs hopefully Im gonna manage to get up there this Christmas.I sure miss having an actual season change and real woods with deer that r actualy bigger then dogs lol
Reply:Originally Posted by ridgerunnerplus figure that most shops pay about twice as much for the same work or labor due to unions.I know that wwith 15 yrs experience im making 2 dollars more an hr then when i first started out in Pa..By the way what part of Pa are ya in?I havent been home for 11 or 12 yrs hopefully Im gonna manage to get up there this Christmas.I sure miss having an actual season change and real woods with deer that r actualy bigger then dogs lol
Reply:Originally Posted by riley mcmillanI moved from Texas to Pennsylvania about three years ago and was supprised that steel prices are about double compared to Texas.  Pennsylvania is known for producing steel and even has a football team called The Steelers.  I have called several places and the prices are high and I am wondering if there are places close to Pittsburgh that sell at a lesser rate.
Reply:Dont get me wrong...im not knocking Unions.there hasnt been a day go by since i moved to texas that I didnt wish for a few union run shops lol.Like anything else they have their good points and there bad points and good union reps and bad.It just seems to me that down south and especialy in the area sorrounding DFW that unless u make your living in a suit and tie you,re nothing more then expendable cheap labor!They have no reason to pay ya anything because they dont consider your experience as worth anything and there plenty of Illegal immigrants that they can hire for pennies on the dollar.LOL sorry for the off topic rant.Just keep you eyes on any metal from mexico Ive found more then a few chunks of steel with almost untouched chunks of metal parts inbedded in em so i have absolutely no faith in their supposed alloy...Again unless its super critical ur probably ok but personaly id rather take the time and money to find a good U.S. or European  source,perferably U.S.
Reply:Ok some one help me here. Back when all the metal we bought here in the states was US made in Union steel mills by well payed metal smiths or whatever the matel was really cheap compared to todays prices, now I thought when american workers lost there good paying jobs to other countries for there cheap labor that the effect would mean cheaper prices on that product. What I can't figure out is why is steel at an all time high if we are getting most of it from China and Mexico were there labor is so cheap. If I have to pay high prices for something I would much rather see my money going in the pockets of American workers.And about Unions, many people now days dislike them and I personally don't care for them even though I work for a Union shop but if there were no unions then our blue collar labor force would be working in the same kind of conditions that the mexican workers and chinese workers are working in today.BTW can someone tell me were I go to enter my location and a sig and stuff.
Reply:It's a constantly changing cycle.About ten or so years ago the port cities where plugged with valueless shipping containers that weren't worth the transportation or labor cost to scrap or reuse!  Then it was cash starved former soviet union steel dumping.  Now we have a new man who's big and  hungry at the table - China!  "BTW can someone tell me were I go to enter my location and a sig and stuff"When you log on go to "CP" control panel, top left.
Reply:I do remember when just overnight that steel prices took a dramatic jump.  Was it four or five years ago?  Well anyway I asked the folks at DIMCO steel in Dallas WHAT IS GOING ON?  One of the owners told me that the producers would almost beg them to buy more steel, then all of a sudden they couldn't get what they wanted to order and then he said he found out that China had bought the total production of square steel tubing from one of his suppliers in Mexico.  He just figured most people could draw their own conclusions on supply and demand.
Reply:Originally Posted by 737mechanicOk some one help me here. Back when all the metal we bought here in the states was US made in Union steel mills by well payed metal smiths or whatever the matel was really cheap compared to todays prices, now I thought when american workers lost there good paying jobs to other countries for there cheap labor that the effect would mean cheaper prices on that product. What I can't figure out is why is steel at an all time high if we are getting most of it from China and Mexico were there labor is so cheap. If I have to pay high prices for something I would much rather see my money going in the pockets of American workers.And about Unions, many people now days dislike them and I personally don't care for them even though I work for a Union shop but if there were no unions then our blue collar labor force would be working in the same kind of conditions that the mexican workers and chinese workers are working in today.BTW can someone tell me were I go to enter my location and a sig and stuff.
Reply:well get ready for increase in steel , my supplyer today told me scrapp steel here in az is  going up and in between 35&45 days new steel will go up and once winter starts it will go up again , write now I am getting $70.00 a ton and priced a 4x8 sheet of .120 wall and before taxes its $135.00 . there is an idea for prices , I am in central az.
Reply:Originally Posted by boilermakerwell get ready for increase in steel , my supplyer today told me scrapp steel here in az is  going up and in between 35&45 days new steel will go up and once winter starts it will go up again , write now I am getting $70.00 a ton and priced a 4x8 sheet of .120 wall and before taxes its $135.00 . there is an idea for prices , I am in central az.
Reply:Dang...I am paying less than that for 1/8 MS tread plate!  $93.58 for a 4x8 as of last week.
Reply:well unfortunetly all the rails comeing into prescott were dorment for 20 yrs then removed in 1977 whats funy now is the population is back up almost to what it was in gold rush but traffic is heavyer than then , would be nice to have rails again , would drop costs alot , then mind you the major scrap metal is shipped to east coast and west so so the high prices here are doe to road time