Steel Slabs 6

[Gunner_Head93]

I'm a trader, somewhat new to the steel industry. I've recently thought of a business idea in purchasing steel slabs from another country and selling the slabs here in the U.S. Although I've kind hit a speed bump in the process... Who in the world will buy slabs here in the U.S??? I talk to fabricators, distributors ect. and everyone is not interested. I mean I can get the slabs for almost half the price of what these big name manufactures are selling them for. I'm just trying to get a hint, or some advise. I'm sure some of you guys have had experience in this sort of thing.

 

[EdStainless]

I presume these are as they come out of the caster or ingot mold?
You would have to sell them to someone who can roll them into a usable form.
And the guys that roll are the ones melting steel here.
No one at the user end buys slabs.

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P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

 

[ameyerrenke]

Any idea what the steel's specified to, if anything? If you don't have steel certifications, then your "slabs" are probably not usable for anything but scrap metal. Depending how good you are at selling it, your reqion, and the condition of the steel you should be able get somewhere between $80-$200 per ton in the US.

 

[Gunner_Head93]

Yes EdStainless they are and they're coming from a reliable source as well. I just thought that since the price in the U.S is so high and not competitive at all with China, India, Russia, ect. That maybe I would be doing a favor for these companies over here in the states. My targets were companies that are capable of re=heating and rolling the slabs to make what ever they want.

ameyerrenke- the certifications are not a problem I just have to ask. I'm fairly good at selling I would not say I'm the best by any means, where are you getting your prices from exactly? That sounds extremely cheap for the U.S.

I'm really just seeing if anyone has any feelers out? Such as who I may need to talk to or what kind of clients should I be going after? I know companies like Nucor, Kloekner, and U.S Steel probably already have people that do that for them. So talking to them would just be a waste of time and effort.

Thanks guys!

 

[ornerynorsk]

Well that's the allure of buying offshore, everything is cheaper. But you can't go selling bloom and slab out of the trunk of your Buick in the South Bronx and expect to make a decent living out of it. Like Ed said, you have to find the market, and the market probably isn't there. It's much easier to project legitimacy in the market with finished goods than it is raw commodity. If you're not known for being in that business and haven't been in that business, then you're just another schmuck and nobody's going to give you the time of day.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

 

[ameyerrenke]

The customer you're looking for is a called a "steel mini-mill" or "steel micro-mill".

The problem you're going to run into, is they're most likely much better at buying steel than you are.

 

[MintJulep]

Why would anyone want to buy from you, a random unknown person?

Steel is cheap relative to the value of a finished steel product. There is a risk associated with purchasing from an unknown source is greater than the small possible increase in profit from reduced material cost.

 

[metengr]

Who in the world will buy slabs here in the U.S??? I talk to fabricators, distributors ect. and everyone is not interested.

Honestly, no market other than perhaps you can sell them as monogrammed boat anchors.

 

[EdStainless]

The guys that roll structurals might be interested, if you can get them a stream of material that is all the same spec.
since it likely to not be as constant as what a mill would melt themselves it would not be suitable for more demanding work.
You will need to find marginal applications.
People used to take old railroad rails and roll them into fence posts, so there are places for outside material.

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P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

 

[Metalfixer]

I used to cut 8' X 40' slabs 6" to 12" thick into counterweights for
forklifts, cranes and other material handling equipment, sometimes I
would find a sand filled void running the entire length of the slab,
but for counterweights they were acceptable.
Larry

 

[swall]

This is a situation where you have to be plugged into the steel industry in order to identify situations where a rolling mill would need to buy slabs on a short term basis. I said short term, things can change suddenly. My former employer was buying SAE 9254 wire rod from a mini mill. The mill was rolling rod from billets purchased from a mill in Canada. The Canadian mill was bought out and it was decided to keep billets for in house use and they quit selling to the outside. It happened fast enough that we had to scramble to find another suitable wire rod supplier. Other times the change is not so rapid. An integrated mill may decide to close a blast furnace and purchase slabs on the outside instead of making their own. That kind of change does not happen over night, but you have to have the correct size of slabs, correct grade and favorable transportation costs.

 

[Gunner_Head93]

Thanks for all the helpful tips guys! I appreciate the recommendations!