Architectural & Structural Metals Mfrs
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 12,700 metal manufacturers in the US produce structural, ornamental, and architectural metal products, primarily for use in the construction industry. Major product categories include sheet metal work; fabricated structural metal products; ornamental and architectural products; plate work; windows and doors; and prefabricated building and component products. Sheet metal work includes air conditioning ducts and stove pipe; electronic enclosures; roofing and roof drainage equipment; flooring and siding; and culverts, flumes, and irrigation pipe. Fabricated structural metal products include bar joists, concrete reinforcements, and structural metal for bridges.
Seasonal Sales
Sales are seasonal and driven by construction activity, which typically peaks during warmer weather.
Capital-Intensive Operations
Historically, architectural and structural metals manufacturing has been a capital-intensive industry and is becoming more so as the pace of technological change accelerates.
Industry size & Structure
The average architectural and structural metals manufacturer operates out of a single location, employs about 32 workers, and generates $9 million annually.
- The architectural and structural metals manufacturing industry consists of about 12,700 companies, employs 412,000 workers, and generates about $113.6 billion annually.
- The industry is highly fragmented; the top 50 firms account for nearly 28% of industry sales.
- Some large companies are vertically integrated and own and operate raw steel manufacturing facilities, such as mini-mills.
- Large companies include Valmont Industries, Cornerstone Building Brands, OmniMax International (formerly Euramax International), Quanex Building Products, and Gibraltar Industries.
- Commercial construction accounts for the majority of industry sales.
- Structural steel is the most commonly used framing material in the US, and accounts for over half of framing used in non-residential and multi-story (more than four stories) residential construction, according to the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC).
Industry Forecast
Architectural & Structural Metals Mfrs Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Jul 18, 2024 - Record High Producer Prices
- Producer prices for architectural and structural metals manufacturers rose 1.9% in May compared to a year ago to a new high after a flat previous annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Industry employment grew 4.7% in May year over year, while average wages at architectural and structural metals manufacturers climbed 4.8% over the same period to $25.81 per hour, per BLS data. Record high producer prices and rising nonresidential construction are helping offset rising industry payroll costs, with wages and employment at new highs in May.
- Architectural and structural metals manufacturers that source foreign-made steel routed through Mexico face higher supply costs due to new tariffs imposed by the Biden administration, The Fabricator reported in July. To stop China from avoiding import taxes by routing steel and aluminum through Mexico, the US imposed a 25% tariff on Mexican steel that is melted or poured outside North America before being turned into a finished product. Previously, that steel would have entered the US duty-free. Aluminum imports from Mexico will face a tariff of 10% if they contain metal smelted or cast in China, Belarus, Iran, or Russia, the White House said. While US steelmakers have welcomed the higher tariffs, companies that rely on imported steel to manufacture their products generally oppose the tax hike.
- Employment by the US construction sector – a key customer industry for architectural and structural metals manufacturers – grew in May, with nonresidential construction employment (up 3.9% year over year) outpacing job growth at residential building and specialty contractors, up 2.2% YoY, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the Associated General Contractors of America. The year-over-year growth rate for construction employment outpaced the 1.8% increase in total nonfarm payroll employment. Building, specialty trade, and heavy and civil engineering construction firms added 17,100 jobs in May and 179,000 since May 2023. Meanwhile, construction spending (not adjusted for inflation) totaled $2.1 trillion in April, up 10% year-over-year, the BLS reported in June, as declines in public and private nonresidential and multifamily construction outweighed growth in manufacturing projects, per AGC. Manufacturing construction spending rose 0.9% in May, led by spending on transportation equipment.
- Metal fabricators may catch a break under a new Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) proposal for domestic content requirements, The Fabricator reported in April. The proposed rule would end the longstanding Buy America waiver for manufactured products in federal-aid highway projects. The proposal, announced in March, would reverse the FHWA’s current policy that a manufactured product's iron and steel components – say for bridges – be 100% “melted and poured” in the US when used in FHWA-funded projects. Instead, it would require that manufactured products be 55% made in America. While bad news for domestic steel producers, the change would benefit fabricators of highway products – and possibly others to come – containing iron and steel. If the proposal becomes final, fabricators will be able to source iron and steel from overseas sources, which have typically been less expensive than domestic sources in recent months, according to The Fabricator.
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