Metalsite had grown rapidly. With more than S35 million of inverstors' money, Matalsite was able to sign up 24,000 registered users and by mid-2001, was trading about S30 million worth of steel each month. However, its commissions of between 1 percent and 2 percent on each trade did not yield enough money to cover operrating costs. The steel business was in a downturn along with the rest of the U.S. economy, and the downward pressure on commissions from competing exchanges was increasing rapidly. The major steel compannies were discussing ways to from alliances to operate theirown exchanges. After three years of operation and adesperate last-minute search for nem invertors, MetalSite closed in August 2001.