General Contractors/Steel Framing subcontractors can expect a metal stud price raise as Steel mills increase their raw material pricing. Large manufactures such as ClarkDietrich publicly announced a 10% national price increase on all steel products for all markets effective March 1, 2023. Steel still remains some of the cheapest in the nation in Louisiana and Texas due to access to our large ports such as The Port of Houston and The Port of South Louisiana. To price out a metal job right now please check out our online bit estimator.
16 gauge structural metal stud price (Up 9.6%)
| Product Code | Price per ft ($/ft) | Price for a 10 ft piece ($) |
| 362S162-54 | $1.85 | $18.50 |
| 362T200-54 | $1.85 | $18.50 |
| 600S162-54 | $2.47 | $24.70 |
| 600T200-54 | $2.47 | $24.70 |
| 800S162-54 | $2.96 | $29.60 |
| 800T200-54 | $2.96 | $29.60 |
18 gauge structural metal stud price (Up 9.5%)
| Product Code | Price per ft ($/ft) | Price for a 10 ft piece ($) |
| 362S162-43 | $1.47 | $14.70 |
| 362T200-43 | $1.47 | $14.70 |
| 600S162-43 | $1.96 | $19.60 |
| 600T200-43 | $1.96 | $19.60 |
| 800S162-43 | $2.36 | $23.60 |
| 800T200-43 | $2.36 | $23.60 |
20 gauge structural metal stud price (Up 9.5%)
| Product Code | Price per ft ($/ft) | Price for a 10 ft piece ($) |
| 362S162-33 | $1.16 | $11.60 |
| 362T200-33 | $1.16 | $11.60 |
| 600S162-33 | $1.55 | $15.50 |
| 600T200-33 | $1.55 | $15.50 |
| 800S162-33 | $1.86 | $18.60 |
| 800T200-33 | $1.86 | $18.60 |
Metal vs Wood framing cost
The equivalent quality of wood to frame with is “pressure treated lumber.” You can buy a pressure tread 2×6 at Homepot for $9.98. While an 18 gauge 10′ metal stud 2×6 would be $19.60. Wood is still the cheaper upfront cost for construction.
Why the metal stud price increase?
Demand for metal remains high with the largest coming form automotive manufactures. Construction demand is cooling off a bit but still high. This stems from China’s reopening economy after pandemic lockdowns. Mill are increasing production but still haven’t return to pre-pandemic numbers. I believe that mills towards the last quarter of 2022 throttled production believing in an economic crash which has yet to come.
Driving demand for metal
Light vehicle production is increasing and up 12.2 from January 2022. Metal as you can imagine takes up a huge supply of metal production.
Architecture billing index is the leading economic indicator of demand for non-residential construction activity. This is down across the US with the multi-family residential sector declining the most.