Escalating Steel Prices: A Proactive Approach

I've received a number of warnings from valued and trusted suppliers keeping me in the loop regarding the escalating costs of steel. Thanks to their efforts of keeping me up to date, this now gives my company, and staff, an opportunity to make an informed decision on how best to quote on future projects. 

The impact is immediate, too. For instance, we recently sold and delivered a singlewide trailer to a repeat customer and they have asked us to provide another. Because we were made aware of the increase in the costs of steel we will have to quote according to our new costs. Unfortunately, the increase will be significant. We've been hit with a 20% increase in steel supplies effective “today” with another 20% increase coming in June and another 20% by mid summer! Not only that - these are only estimates!

When asked why the cost of steel is going up, there is no consensus as to why. Raw material supplies are low in China, because of the inclement winter, plus higher energy and transport costs are impacting all manufactured goods. These are difficult times for those of us in the manufacturing sector. Thanks to our suppliers who have the foresight to let us know ahead of time that prices will be significantly higher, we are able to quote accordingly. The risks associated with not being informed about these increases, or worse still, ignoring them can be severe. Now it is up to us to keep our clients in the loop.