<VV> Threat to Corvairs and Old car parts

[ChiefTAM@aol.com]

Don't know if anyone has talked about this recently, but I am trying to build 
a house, and finding out that all sorts of things are going up.  Plywood is 
at an almost all time high, concrete is up greatly, steel for rebar doubled in 
the last week or so, and, we all know that fuel (gas) is up to near record 
highs too.  

Well, I knew some of this from building the house, but I talked yesterday to 
the builder of the gun safes that I sell as a hobby.  Bruce told me that he 
could only give me price quotes that are only good for that day as since 
January, the price of steel he buys for the safes is up $40.00 per 100 pounds.  

I was trying to buy a Texas relatively rust free box for my brother in Iowa 
last week.  I made the deal last Saturday, and was going back today to get the 
box.  I talked to the guy yesterday and he said that he crushed the truck (an 
early 60's Chevy) as he had a crusher there and he was getting $90.00 a ton 
for metal.

This goes back to what Bruce told me, that last fall steel was deregulated, 
and since most of our steel is recycled and not mined, the cost has really gone 
up.  He told me that most of this is because since early winter, the Chinese 
are buying up all the scrap steel they can.  Last fall it was going for a 
penny a pound, now, it is almost a nickel.  Tremendous jump.

Now, I don't know if the Chinese are buying up all the scrap steel, but I do 
know that steel has taken a tremendous jump in prices.  I'm sure that anyone 
that has a wrecking yard that is filled with cars that they can sell for parts 
easily will be calling the crushers.  This means that a lot of old cars that 
might still have usable parts could be gone.  

Just for what it is worth.

Todd
Former MN resident, now Texan