The United States structural steel supply chain is designed to optimize project designs while at the same time make the process as smooth and time efficient as possible. Generally the supply chain consists of scrap metal from recyclers going to steel mills. The mills produce structural steel members like beams and channels. These members are shipped to service centers or directly to Roller/Benders who form the metal into curves. The structural steel fabricator is the next link in the chain to receive the material. Finally, the fabricated material is shipped to a job site where an erector installs it. This simple supply chain is highly tuned and efficient at each link.
The majority of all steel used in structural steel comes from recycled material. A significant portion of scrap metal comes from junked cars that are shredded by recyclers who tend to draw from their local area in order to minimize shipping of these bulky items. The raw material is then shipped to steel mills that operate most efficiently when they are producing at a constant rate or optimal duty cycle. Steel mills prefer to receive their scrap metal from within a few hundred miles of their factories. Receiving the scrap from farther away increases cost and increases shipping variability.
Once the steel members are produced, they are then shipped either to Roller/Benders, fabricators or – most often – to steel service centers. If there is sufficient quantity of particular items to meet the minimum requirements to purchase from a mill, the Roller/Benders and fabricators may go directly to a steel mill to buy their material. The benefits of buying directly from a steel mill rather than a service center included decreased costs and the ability to obtain custom lengths; the disadvantages include waiting for the time when a mill has scheduled to produce particular lengths and the requirement to buy a significant amount of steel.
Service Centers buy large quantities of steel from the mills and store it for sale to fabricators and Roller/Benders as needed. Service centers aid in the efficient purchase of steel by enabling fabricators to buy only what they need.
Roller/Benders strive for efficiency when their machine operators tune their equipment to run at constant rates. An uninterrupted process of rolling can minimize set-up times and thereby reduce cost and provide faster delivery times.
The next stop in the supply chain is the fabricator. Fabricators do most of their work in the controlled environment of their factories. Their shops are also set up to ensure a smooth, efficient process of fabrication. Fabricators implement comprehensive systems of quality control, quality assurance, and–if needed–nondestructive testing. If everything is executed correctly, then you will end up with an optimal structural steel project.
