• Skip to main content

    Market Data

    June 7, 2014

    The Truth About Selling Steel: Sales Stories

    Written by John Packard

    From time to time Steel Market Update writes an article that seems to touch the collective nerve of the steel community. A number of our articles which we have published under the “Steel Buyers Basics” title fit in that category. The article we have shared with both our Steel Market Update members as well as those in our social media network, and is collecting the most comments and continuing on with a life of its own, is the one we published in late April 2014 entitled: “The Truth About Selling Steel: The First Sales Call” The response to that single article prompted us to add a new category on our website called: The Truth About Selling Steel which is focused on the steel sales side of the ledger. You can find the new sub-menu tab and past articles on the subject under the Resources section of our website.

    We posted the article on our Blog and then went out to social media (Twitter and LinkedIn) and posted a link to the article and an open invitation for people to comment.

    John Packard

    Read more from John Packard

    Latest in Market Data

    Final Thoughts: Do Mesabi Metallics and Hyundai-POSCO signal more foreign steel investment in US?

    Could two new steel projects signal a new direction in the marketplace? Both Mesabi Metallics’ recently announced steel facility in Iowa and the Hyundai-POSCO’s proposed mill in Louisiana are major undertakings. You don’t spitball a major steel mill and then start producing the next day. From initial concept to site selection and on up to the first melt, there is a labyrinth of permitting, planning, and construction to navigate before the first heat.

    Lead times extend deeper into 2027, some see no availability until late Feb

    Lead times for sheet and plate products continue to extend in a US steel market still in the grip of a historic supply squeeze, according to the latest SMU steel market survey data. Average lead times now extend into late January 2027, with some mills not quoting availability until mid/late February. Lead times for all sheet products except Galvalume stand at their highest point since the post-Covid demand snapback in 2021. And plate lead times have exceeded their 2021 peak, repeatedly setting new record highs in our data series over the past month. (We started collecting plate lead time data in 2018. Our sheet lead time figures go back to 2012.)

    SMU flat-rolled market survey results now available

    The results of the latest Steel Market Update (SMU) flat-rolled market survey are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in, look under the Data tab for Market Reports, and there you will find the Flat-Rolled Survey Results section. Previous survey results are also available on that page. If you need help accessing these results, or if your company would like to have your voice heard in our future surveys, contact smu@crugroup.com.

    SMU Survey: Steel mill negotiations remain rare as buyers face tight supply

    Only 5% of steel buyers surveyed by SMU this week said mills were willing to negotiate lower prices for new spot orders, suggesting mills retain substantial pricing leverage in a tight market. The share rose two percentage points from our previous survey two weeks ago but was nine points below the mid-October reading. This week's rate is just slightly higher than our previous survey when the negotiation rate fell to 3% — its lowest level since July 2021. Negotiation rates have trended downward all year as steel prices have continued to climb.