Cost of Steel Delivery 1

[sauce_man]

Hello,

I am going thru a change order for some misc steel pieces and (forget about other things like shop labor) I cannot buy how much they charge for delivery for some loose items. can anyone provide some insight on where they're coming from with these fees?

 

[3DDave]

How much would it cost you to go get them?

 

[Guest090822]

Get used to it. You won't get a definitive response here. Every part of the country is different. I'm in the Northeast where things tend to cost a lot more than let's say the Southwest.

Ask for justification if you need too. I've had situations where a mistake was found while they were compiling pricing and more than once and was sent a revised price.

 

[kipfoot]

I think you'd also be surprised how little credit you'd get if you remove some steel from a project.

 

[WARose]

So what is the charge (and where are you)?

By the way, you may want to ask around your office and see if anyone has RSMeans.

 

[JStephen]

It depends a lot on whether it gets thrown on a truck along with 41,900 lbs of other stuff, or whether somebody has to make a special trip or whether it gets freighted or what.
Whether they're overcharging, I have no idea. But expect a lot of variability in things like that.

 

[EdStainless]

This is where relationships come in.
Do you always work with a just a couple of people or you actively shop all of the jobs?
If you have some solid supplier relationships I would expect the steel price to be the same, but the set-up and delivery charges will be also. So yes that last 500# will be very expensive from that point of view, but that is the way it works and that is what you should expect.
On the other hand if these guys don't feel like they are jeopardizing future (profitable) work then they may be trying to 'make a boat payment' off of you because you are in a bind. Tough luck.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy

 

[MikeHalloran]

A former employer 'saved a lot of money' by implementing '5S' and getting rid of all their leftover steel, and even the racks on which it was stored.

Their next job required six feet of one size of angle.
A 20 foot 'stick' of any size of angle costs just a few bucks.
Delivering it on a flatbed tractor-trailer costs quite a bit more.
Shipping is usually free if you load the trailer to near capacity.

It would have been much cheaper to send someone to Home Depot to buy the angle with cash, but that didn't fit into their 'process'. Idiots.



Mike Halloran
Corinth, NY, USA

 

[sauce_man]

This east coast. And I understand shipping one piece could justify a high delivery charge. In this break down there are several changes at several floors. overall there may be a few thousand pounds of steel for this order, but they break it down floor by floor. in one instance there is a 300$ fee associated with one 20 lb loose angle (for which they also claim four hours of shop labor and three hours of detailing). I know fabricators here are notorious for hiding their extras. and in most cases I cannot say much on where their detailing, shop and field work estimates come from. but this is once piece of loose steel.

 

[miningman]

Its like the gangsters / mafia are reputed to say " its nothing persomal , its just business"

 

[ATSE]

At my last employer, my time was billed out at $240 / hour. For creating digital paper, usually not much different from job to job. There may be shady contractors on your jobs, but half of engineering is a racket, pure and simple.
At least my contractor friends in the field have something real to show for their efforts and invoices. Some of my collegues justify their very large salaries primarily with marginally written email correspondence.

 

[wannabeSE]

My cynical outlook which may not be far form the truth:
Change Order Cost = 10 x what you think it should cost.
Reimbursement for VE or scope reduction changes after contract awarded = 10 cents on the dollar

 

[dauwerda]

Shipping rates can very greatly depending on the situation. The quicker you need it their the more it will cost. An LTL shipment is going to cost more per pound than a full truck. I am used to seeing a full truck load of steel cost around $2000 plus or minus depending on distance. I recently saw 120 lbs of plates split up into 3 boxes and over-nighted by UPS to be delivered on Saturday which cost a total of $1200 in shipping (sometimes needs and schedule out way the cost of shipping).