CLEVELAND - Soaring steel prices have been good news for an industry that's had its share of bad luck.

But as steel companies like Cleveland-based International Steel Group see profits on the rise, the bigger price tags have other industries on edge - roller coaster manufacturers, office furniture makers and automobile companies, to name a few.

The trickle down to consumers has been minimal so far, but analysts say it's only a matter of time before consumers start paying more for cars, refrigerators and other products containing steel.

Steel prices are rising because production is costing manufacturers more for various reasons, including a shortage of raw materials such as scrap and coke, the fuel used for blast furnaces. That shortage has resulted in raw material prices increasing, causing steel manufacturers to impose skyrocketing surcharges on companies that buy steel used in products or construction.

Prices for scrap, used in most steel making, have risen from $120 per ton last summer to $252 a ton this month, mainly because China is buying all it can find to feed its rapidly growing steel industry. The same is true for coke.

The shortage has meant that American steel makers lucky enough to get the raw materials are able to charge higher prices for the finished product. Still, imported steel is more expensive because of the low U.S. dollar.

The average U.S. price of hot-rolled coil steel - which is sold to car makers and others - hit $605 a ton this month, a 68 percent surge from December's low of $360, according to steel consulting firm Meps International.

The increases already have hurt some steel buyers, including the Ohio Department of Transportation that has seen the cost of some bridge and pavement projects climb, said spokesman Brian Cunningham.

Amusement park ride makers also are feeling pinched by the prices.

"All of our suppliers are passing that on to us," said Jeff Novotny, president of carnival ride maker Larson International. "We're kind of at the end of the food chain there."

Pittsburgh's

Kennywood amusement park has noticed the rising price of steel parts used to repair rides, general manager Jerome Gibas said.

Since the park buys most of its rides from Europe, the company would have to pay higher prices to buy new attractions because of the conversion from dollars to euros. The low dollar has been a bigger issue for the company than rising American steel prices, he said.

"That's swaying a lot of our decisions about whether we'll go forward with plans for new attractions," he said.

So far, the steel price increases haven't shown up on new car price tags and other items made by companies that are locked into lower prices, thanks to long-term contracts signed with steel sellers.