This massive increase in demand, coupled with reduced supplies of raw materials and a weaker American dollar, drove the price for steel up 66% in one six-month period in 2004 and made long-term cost estimating for a wide range of construction projects virtually impossible.
As a result, in 2004 steel producers added surcharges or renegotiated contracts to raise prices and help offset their higher costs, or simply canceled orders they couldn't fill. Steel's spiraling prices finally peaked and started to reverse themselves in 2005, although they remain 20 - 30% higher now (mid- to late-2005) than their January 2004 levels.