Metal Price Movers

Largest metal list-price increases and drops over the past 30 days, as of Jul 24, 2026.

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Period14D30D

Price increases

Aluminum 6061 Round Bar 16" diameter$8.61/lb
+36.0%/ 30d
Steel 4130 Round Bar 4-1/2" diameter(240")$2.31/lb
+19.7%/ 30d
Aluminum 6061 Round Tube 3-1/2" OD x 1/2" wall(288")$7.21/lb
+16.9%/ 30d
Aluminum CAST TOOLING Plate 1" thick(48.5" × 96.5")$7.88/lb
+14.9%/ 30d
Steel .15 C MAX Flat Bar 3/4" x 1/4"(240")$1.50/lb
+12.8%/ 30d

Price drops

Aluminum 5052 Plate 1/2" thick(48" × 120")$5.01/lb
-38.7%/ 30d
Steel 1045 Round Bar 9" diameter(240")$1.15/lb
-35.8%/ 30d
Steel 1018 Round Bar 7-1/4" diameter(240")$1.15/lb
-35.8%/ 30d
Steel 1141 Round Bar 8-1/2" diameter(240")$1.15/lb
-35.8%/ 30d
Steel 1018 Square Bar 5/16" square(144")$1.70/lb
-27.0%/ 30d

Prices shown are recent median list prices.

Alloy Trends

30D

Median 30-day change across every size we track for each alloy. A broad move across many products matters more than one product repricing.

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How these numbers are calculated

Every price here comes from distributor list pricing. These are the prices large metal distributors post publicly. When a supplier posts more than one price for the same item on the same day, we take the middle value (the median) as that day's price.

The change compares the median price of roughly the last 3 days against the median from the same stretch about 30 days earlier (or 7 days, on the weekly view). We only compare like with like: the same supplier, the same stock size, and the same order-quantity tier. A different length of bar or a different volume break never counts as a price change.

A product needs at least 2 days of prices on both ends of the window to show up, so a single odd scrape can't create a fake move. Moves bigger than 50% are held back until we review them. In our data those are almost always a listing error, not a real repricing.

For the rest of how we collect and clean prices, see the full methodology.