“Rebar is just a lowly scrap metal, but it’s starting to look like gold on some construction sites.
The steel reinforcing rods used in building everything from skyscrapers to freeway sound walls are in short supply on the West Coast. That has led to sporadic delays at building projects around California, including renovation work at the Hollywood Bowl and construction of a new engineering hall at USC. Rebar prices have soared 29%, from $175 a metric ton last year to $225 a metric ton today, according to a steel industry trade group.
‘You can’t do it without rebar and that’s a bummer,’ said Jensen, USC’s construction manager. ‘We are calling the East Coast, overseas and south of the border to get it.’
The shortage is pushing up labor costs in some cases.”
