Web Site Offers 'Neutral' Place To Buy, Sell Steel

Global buyers and sellers of prime and secondary steel product can initiate business transactions over the Internet via the e-Steel Exchange online marketplace, operated by e-Steel Corp., New York. Neutral, that is, not owned by any of the participants, the site provides a secure environment where users can initiate inquires or make product offers and negotiate full details of a transaction in real time. Products currently purchased or sold on the site include prime and non-prime hot-rolled, cold-rolled, coated, plate, tin-mill, and rebar steels. By year end, additional offerings will include semi-finished products (billet, bloom, slab), pipe and tube, structurals, wire rod, and specialty steels. Membership in the e-Steel Exchange is free for both buyers and sellers, though members must be qualified via a credit and corporate-profile check. E-Steel will charge sellers a transaction fee of less than 1% on purchases initiated on the site, though payment between trading partners will occur offline.