With commercial construction—as well as industrial expansion—on the back burner, the market for wide-flange beams and heavy structurals would certainly welcome a spark this year. But with a few possible exceptions, it doesn't look as if the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) holds much promise.

There were higher hopes earlier in the year, but as the summer progressed it became evident there wouldn't be nearly as much steel—and even less structural shapes—resulting from the federal stimulus package. This gave rise to the somewhat cynical observation that while late last year roads and bridges seemed to make up 80 percent of the conversation about stimulus spending, the steel industry ended up with only about 3 percent of the money.

And for beams and structurals the stimulus package held even less. Highway work largely involves products like reinforcing bar, while bridge fabrication—with the possible exception of some small-span structures—is mainly associated with plate. This doesn't necessarily bode well for beams, which had an annual market of about 5 million to 6 million tons before the bottom fell out in the second half of 2008.

Joe Stratman, executive vice president of plate and structural steel operations at Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor Corp., noted that while the only reports he had received were anecdotal, it was his impression that neither distributors, structural fabricators nor bridge fabricators were...