These members are widely used in the USA and Europe in single level industrial and warehousing type structures. The members are generally subjected to lightweight loadings and have generous plenum depth requirements. This permits an optimised design approach to produce an efficient custom tapered welded member with 30 to 40% weight savings compared to hot rolled beams.

The term "custom tapered welded members" is used to indicate that the members have been designed for a specific application as opposed to an "off-the-shelf" item. Members under this classification may also be parallel, ie non-tapered, such as the columns in a fixed base portal frame, or there may be other reasons for the shape of the members not to mimic the bending moment diagram directly.