SMU Data and Models

SMU Steel Survey: Steel Mill Negotiations
Written by John Packard
August 21, 2014
Based on our latest Steel Market Update analysis of the flat rolled steel markets, we are learning that the domestic steel mills were more willing to negotiate galvanized and Galvalume pricing than hot rolled and cold rolled steel pricing.
The largest movement we saw was on Galvalume where 64 percent of our respondents reported the mills as being willing to negotiate pricing this week. This is up from the 40 percent reported at the beginning of August.
The galvanized response rate remained about the same as 58 percent of our respondents reported the domestic mills as willing to negotiate galvanized transaction prices.
Cold rolled saw a very small uptick in the percentage of respondents reporting the domestic mills as willing to negotiate steel prices. The latest survey reported 39 percent vs. 35 percent of our respondents as reporting the mills as willing to negotiate pricing.
Thirty-five percent of our respondents reported the domestic mills as willing to negotiate hot rolled prices which is essentially the same as the 37 percent measured at the beginning of August.
SMU Note: You can view the interactive graphic on our steel mill negotiations data below when you are logged into the website and reading the newsletter online. If you have not logged into the website in the past and need your username and password, contact us at: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by calling 800-432-3475. If you need help navigating the website we would also be very happy to assist you.
{amchart id=”113″ SMU Negotiations by Product- Survey}

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in SMU Data and Models

US Hot Band Now Even Cheaper Than Imported HRC
US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices fell further relative to imported product this week. Domestic hot band remains cheaper than offshore HRC as US tags continue to sink at a sharper rate than those overseas.

Service Center Shipments and Inventories Report for August
Flat Rolled = 54.1 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 61.2 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat-rolled steel inventories eased back in August with stronger shipments. At the end of August, service centers carried 54.1 shipping days of supply, according to adjusted SMU data, down from 56.1 shipping days of supply […]

SMU Steel Demand Index Inches Up
Steel Market Update’s Steel Demand Index remains in contraction territory despite marginal improvement, according to our latest survey data.
HRC vs. Galv Price Spread Widened This Summer
The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized sheet base prices widened throughout the summer as hot rolled prices declined faster than those of galvanized.
US Prime Scrap, HRC Spread Narrows Further
The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices continued to narrow this month, according to Steel Market Update’s most recent pricing data.