Architectural & Structural Metals Mfrs NAICS 3323

Oct 18, 2025 - Falling US Steel Prices

• In September, domestic steel prices fell to their lowest levels since February, giving up earlier tariff-driven gains, OilPrice.com reports. Weak demand from the construction sector, short mill lead times, and volatile durable goods orders are putting downward pressure on prices, including for hot-rolled steel coil, which in early September saw its lowest price since February. The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI), which tracks steel prices, fell nearly 1% from August to September. In the first quarter, prices jumped $241 per short ton following tariff announcements by the Trump administration. However, since peaking in March, prices have fallen $109 to $818 per short ton. Prices for cold-rolled coil and hot-dipped galvanized steel are also trending downward. While tariffs have provided support for domestic steel prices, falling demand from the construction and manufacturing sectors is dragging down steel prices.
• Total US construction starts declined 3.9% in August compared to a year ago and tumbled 24% month over month, according to the latest data from ConstructConnect. Still, total volume was up 5.9% year to date. Nonresidential (aka commercial) construction starts – the sum of nonresidential building (NRB) and civil construction – rose 2.9% year over year, with NRB starts posting a flat comparison while civil construction starts rose 8.2%. The best performing categories YTD include private offices including data centers, manufacturing, and sports and convention centers, while the worst performers were prisons, power structures, and hotels and motels, per ConstructConnect. NRB activity has been extremely volatile this year. The biggest geographic beneficiaries of construction activity YTD include the Mountain Division up 153%, the West South Central UP 53%, and New England gaining 39%. Commercial construction accounts for the majority of the architectural and structural metals industry sales.

• According to new federal data analyzed by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), iron and steel prices are driving up construction costs. Over the past 12 months the Producer Price Index – which captures inflation in the supply chain before it reaches consumers – for iron and steel has risen 9.2%, BLS data shows. Alongside iron and steel, copper wire and cable prices jumped 13.8% in the past 12 months. "Prices rose at an especially rapid pace in some of the categories most affected by tariffs,” said the ABC's chief economist Ayan Basu. The upward trend follows President Trump's decision earlier this summer to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%. Manufacturers of architectural and structural metals face rising costs for metals and potential falling demand for their products as rising input costs may cause delays or cancellations of construction projects.
• Producer prices for architectural and structural metals manufacturers rose 6.9% in August compared to a year ago – a record high for the industry – after rising 0.9% in the previous August-versus-August annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Tariffs on aluminum and steel, along with a more recent tariff on raw copper, are raising costs for manufacturers, prompting them to hike prices. Employment by the industry is also at a record-high level, up 3% year over year in July, while average wages at architectural and structural metals manufacturers rose 3.3% over the same period to $26.89 per hour, easing from their peak in April, BLS data show.