Beams are used in the frames of commercial and industrial facilities. Experts attribute the drop in prices to the postponement or freezing of major construction projects, as well as the growing supply of alternatives.
Nizhnetagilsky Metallurgical Combine produces more than 300 profile sizes of I-beams. Illustrative photo: EVRAZ.
The price of a steel I-beam from the beginning of September to October 12 fell to 82.4 thousand rubles per ton, follows from the data of the Rusmet rating agency, which is referenced by the Kommersant newspaper. The quotes dropped to a minimum in two years. Other construction products have not shown a significant increase in prices or a significant drop in recent months.
The volume of the I-beam market in Russia in 2025 is estimated at about 1 million tons.
The drop in prices is due to the postponement or freezing of large, including infrastructural, construction projects, says Viktor Tarnavsky, head of the analytical department of Metal Supply and Sales.
"Developers mostly complete previously started projects, while the launch of new ones is postponed due to the high cost of credit resources," adds Rusmet analyst Alexey Chizhikov. According to him, the moderate demand for office and retail space also makes new projects less attractive to investors, which affects the purchase of metal structures.
According to the IBC Real Estate consulting company, investments in commercial real estate and building plots in Russia in the first half of 2025 fell by 38% year-on-year, to 290 billion rubles, which was the lowest value in three years.
Additional factors of pressure on the I-beam segment were the strengthening of the ruble in the summer and lower export prices, says Dmitry Orekhov, managing director of the NKR rating agency. "Manufacturers focused more on the domestic market, which increased pressure on prices. In addition, in September and October, demand from the construction and installation of metal structures traditionally begins to decline — the seasonal end of the construction cycle," he explains.
Evraz Steel (the main manufacturer of I-beams in Russia) says that the decrease in the cost of hot—rolled steel beams is due, among other things, to an increase in the supply of a substitute product, welded beams, which are made from sheet metal, the price of which has also significantly decreased.
Learn more on the website kommersant.ru
