SteelRx eyes Rs 400-cr auction; registers 100% rise in volumes

New Delhi: Online steel trading site www.steelrx.com has recorded a more than 100-per cent jump in its volumes during the year and expects to close the year with Rs 400 crore of steel auctions.

Says SteelRx CEO Y P S Suri: "Online trading in steel is picking up. Though exact figures have not yet been compiled, it is increasing fast with the demand for standard steel items going up."

According to industry estimates, while in January this year, the share of online volumes was around 2 per cent of the total steel traded in the country, it has reached the 3-per cent mark by November. The growth is spearheaded by demands from the housing industry as more and more merchant traders are sourcing online.

Adds Suri: "It is mostly the surplus and secondary products which are being auctioned online while the share of alloy, special and prime steel is low for online auctions. This is because these categories of steel usually goes directly from the producer to the user based on one-to-one contracts.

"We expect another 100-per cent jump in volumes next fiscal. During 2002-03, when the whole concept was relatively nascent, we auctioned steel worth Rs 140 crore. This year we will be auctioning Rs 400 crore worth steel while for fiscal 2004-05 we will be targeting Rs 800 crore."