An Indiana metal supplier located at the mill.

Why an in-state supplier changes the math

Most Indiana manufacturers buy flat-rolled steel from a service center one or two states away, which puts a day or two of freight and a truckload minimum between them and their material. Metal Master is in Crawfordsville — central to the state and physically adjacent to one of the largest sheet mills in North America — so inbound freight from the mill is measured in minutes and outbound freight is a short in-state haul.

The practical effect is shorter lead times, smaller release quantities without a freight penalty, and the ability to expedite when a line goes down. See the mill-adjacency page for how that works in detail.