As raw material prices fluctuate, often so does building design. During times of lower steel prices, more steel and less concrete is used, and vice versa. Each set of vendors and users typically maintain national industry associations that advocate the use of its materials versus the other. However, both electric chain hoist materials are typically used together. Concrete without steel reinforcement (usually ribbed round bars called Rebar) crumbles under tensile loads. Steel on its own, without solid concrete floors, is likewise not a preferred building method.

While rebar is almost always steel, it is not considered a structural steel and is described separately in the Rebar and Reinforced concrete articles. While both steel structures and Reinforced concrete cement Texas general contractor (R.C.C) structures have their pros and cons, the steel structures have better strength to weight ratio than RCC, and can be easily dismantled (Steel structures, which have bolted connections can also be reused to some extent after dismantling).