What are your thoughts about the shocking price of stainless steel? Not only is it ridiculously expensive, it's extremely difficult to find these days.

Any thoughts on why this is happening?

Should've invested in nickel! What I've been doing with a particular set of customers (I call them my '800-lb Gorilla Group) is that I get them involved when time is of the essence. They are aware that we are a very small, custom shop and therefore do not command the attention of a company sourcing thousands of pounds of steel each month. So if they want it in a hurry they put us with their supplier group.

Pricewise I haven't had to do more than blanch when the prices come in. Most of our customers who order stainless are aware of the huge uptick in pricing and are know they have to pay accordingly.

I am wondering if there is a deliberate shortage at this time, to keep prices inflated. One supplier of ours baldly stated they are not reacquiring stainless until the current 30days quotes are up. I suspect this will all end in tears for small companies such as ours who are currently holding bids based on those quotes.

I suspect small-to-medium shops will feel the pain more (what else is new?) because we simply don't have the resources to stockpile materials and usually do not have contract jobs that allow us to plan ahead for our materials. I know we get ductile iron one day, stainless the next....and Teflon after that.For that reason, forming consortiums usually doesn't work, either.

Any suggestions?

Lisa -

Good morning! Actually, seeking out our customers' preferred pricing (and availability, which is even more paramount!) works pretty well for us. As we are a small, custom shop our overhead is relatively low and we don't do a high markup on our materials. And stainless being what it is right now, the Gorillas are getting hammered as well, relative to their position in the marketplace. In a very odd way, this volatile market has put smart buyers and suppliers in a more collaborative situation. After all, the end-goal for both parties is to get the part made. To have the customer involved in that process, when necessary, is not such a bad thing and changes the whole dynamic between us in a very positive way!

Where they can really help us and other small shops is with availability. This only works, of course, if the buyer is huge - most small buyers are in the same boat as their small suppliers. We simply haven't the muscle the Gorillas have, for obvious reasons.

It works for us, fortunately, because the Gorillas are aware of the volatile nature of the metals marketplace in terms of pricing and avails. The customers we have a bit more difficulty with are smaller customers who, perhaps, are not as knowledgeable about the marketplace - but we alert them, going in, that prices are shocking and avails uncertain.

Thank you so much for the stainless option - it's something I'd not considered. Gotta brush up on my metals options, obviously:-). Most of us just go along, looking at 304 and 316, forgetting that there are other, less expensive options out there.

Stuart -

Thanks for the recommendation. I will be researching 400 series as an alternate. It would be great to provide our customers with a reasonably-priced alternate when the application permits!