Manufacures feeling the strain

By July, manufacturers can expect to pay as much as $1,200 a ton for hot-rolled steel, about twice the cost in January, according to the Kiplinger Letter, a Washington, D.C., newsletter that makes economic predictions.

Metal fabrication companies expect business conditions to weaken in the next three months, according to a new report from the Precision Metalforming Association, a trade group based in Cleveland. Precision Metalforming has widespread membership in Wisconsin.