If I had a dollar for every time I hear a purchasing agent or steel executive tell me “If I had tonnage to buy I could get….” The comment is then followed by a base price less than what the market has been reporting to date. If I had tonnage to buy I could get hot rolled for $740 per ton, or galvanized for less than $43.00/cwt base….

So, the issue is to separate the wheat from the chaff and determine not only what buyers are actually paying for steel but also where the real offers are out of the domestic steel mills. This can be quite the chore when you start throwing regional differences and new capacity into the mix.

One of our good sources called us on Friday morning to tell us, “Your spot prices are too high.” This is not the first time we have heard this as buyers maneuver the domestic steel mills to lower prices in order that the buyer is able to buy “below the market.”

So, what really is the market price for flat rolled steel today?

North vs. South / East vs. West

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