While the price of nickel is dropping, this is resulting in a rapid decrease in stainless steel prices. Some stainless steel distributors may find themselves a little heavy on inventory when it comes to mill finished stainless steel tubing. After all, you requisition your offshore container purchases and in the midst of it’s journey across the Pacific, you find the price has dropped, leaving you no choice but to either sit on the material in hopes of a price increase in the future or selling it at a lesser price than what you purchased it for. But for now, you find yourself with an excess of mill finished material collecting dust in your warehouse. However, there is a solution that can help you move your inventory a little faster and help save you a little money in the meantime. It actually might make you a few extra bucks in the process.
Consider taking your mill finished tubing and having it polished to a P&B or 180 grit finish. Traditionally, polished stainless steel tubing moves better than a mill finish product. Thereby having your mill finished tubes polished, you can probably unload some of that excess inventory. And don’t worry, if you already have stainless that’s a P&B finish and it’s sitting collecting dust as well, consider a 180 grit finish. You’ll not only find that the polished tubes moves faster, but you can offer your customers a one stop solution to their metal buying needs by saving them time and few extra man hours (which translates into dollars) when it comes to creating a new p.o. and hassle of locating a metal polisher. What’s more, you can make a few extra dollars yourself by marking-up the product as you increase the value of the stainless steel tube. This is what we like to call a win-win solution at Affiliated Steel & Tube; everyone ends up a winner!
For information on stainless steel tube polishing, please visit www.affiliatedsteel.com.
