Gary Farrar
Contributing Editor
Nelson-Farrar indexes for finished steels changed drastically during 2008-11 (see table below). Generally speaking, the alloy steels changed less than carbon steel products.
Alloy bars started the period with an index value of 1,332.3 and peaked at 1,440.2. Alloy sheets stood at an index value of 878.2 in early 2008 and at 1,776.0 in mid-2011.
The index for cold-rolled sheets was 1,688.8 during first-quarter 2008 and stood at 2,260.8 during second-quarter 2011. During the same period, structural plates started the 4-year term at an index of 2,054.4 and hit a high of 2,374.5 in third-quarter 2011.
The composite index for steel products rose to 2,287.0 during 2008 from 1,650.4 in first-quarter 2008 and then dropped to 1,906.2 during fourth-quarter 2011. The composite category includes all steel-mill products. This analysis shows a large fluctuation in the cost of finished steels over the 2008-11 period.
