Did you know steel is North America's No. 1 recycled material, according to the Steel Recycling Institute? Overall steel recycling rates in 2000 reached 64.1 percent. Steel scraps were generated from recycled cans, automobiles, appliances, construction materials and other steel products.

According to the Steel Recycling Institute, 14 million cars were recycled in 2000, yielding enough steel to produce 48 million steel utility poles in the United States.

Recently, the prices of hot-rolled steel, which is a price benchmark, experienced a price jump of 20 percent to 40 percent - going from a low of $200 per net ton to about $320 per ton in conjunction with a March tariff on imported steel.

According to a June 17 article in Automotive News, “Suppliers of metal-formed auto parts are being squeezed by rising steel prices. Smaller auto suppliers (tier 2) have found that their steel suppliers have torn up contracts and raised prices by more than 30 percent.”

Although steel recycling adds to the availability of U.S. steel, analysts in the U.S. steel market are expecting modest increases in hot-rolled steel prices to continue into the third quarter and beyond.

Stat Corner is written by Denise Caspersen, ASA's research management specialist. She can be reached at (800) 272-7467, ext. 236.

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