Mount Airy, North Carolina-based wire manufacturer Insteel Industries, Inc. reported Thursday net earnings of $2.6 million for fiscal Q2 2011, compared to $1.6 million for the same period a year ago.
Net sales for Insteel surged in fiscal Q2, rising 66.3 percent to $86.9 million from $52.3 million in Q2 2010 due to the acquisition of Ivy Steel and Wire and overall higher selling prices-selling prices were up 16.6 percent year-over-year.
"Prices for our primary raw material, hot-rolled steel wire rod have spiked higher in recent months driven by the rising cost of steel scrap and increased demand from automotive and other non-construction applications. We have responded to these cost pressures by implementing price increases for our reinforcing products during our first and second fiscal quarters and have announced additional increases effective in April," commented H.O. Woltz III, Insteel's president and CEO.