The biggest surprise for Stewart in MetalSite's first year has been the steel industry's acceptance of a new way of doing business. This wasn't always the case. The metals industry has been slow to respond, despite the huge potential of this sector. MetalSite is moving into catalog sales of prime plate, pipe and tube, wire rod, and stainless. Our goal always was to sell prime product.
Steelmakers also can sell slabs through the site.
MetalSite declines to disclose how many buyers use its site. It receives 145,000 page views per week. A page view occurs every time someone moves from one page to another on the site. The service is free for buyers. Sellers pay a fee of 1-2 percent of the sales price, based on volume.