Domestic steel's Olympic price boom likely to last for next three years at least

Domestic suppliers have used the increase in demand to hike prices and boost margins, which has had a negative effect on the construction, car-manufacturing, shipbuilding and white goods industries, which have had to endure more expensive raw material prices without being able to pass them on to end-users as the market simply would not tolerate such a move. "We will look for new suppliers abroad, where the prices have increased but in smaller proportions," says Andzej Libold, president of white goods producer Zelmer. In a similar vein, many subcontractors in the construction industry claim that it is cheaper for them to incur fines for breaking building contracts rather than sourcing the necessary steel at present prices. (Puls Biznesu pp. 4-5) M.G.