SMU Data and Models

Mill Price Negotiations on Flat Rolled Vary by Product
Written by John Packard
August 18, 2016
Based on the results of our flat rolled steel market trends survey that Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted all week, steel mills are receptive to negotiate steel prices on some products and less so on others. We are seeing the mills being fairly aggressive on hot rolled price negotiations with 83 percent of our survey respondents reporting the mills as willing to negotiate. On the other end of the spectrum is Galvalume, used in metal buildings and other building products that are in peak season right now, where only 22 percent of our respondents reported the mills as willing to negotiate price on AZ products.
Cold rolled, which has seen lead times slipping over the past two weeks, saw the percentage of respondents reporting the mills as willing to negotiate rise to 43 percent. This is up 20 percent since early August and up 43 percent since June.
Galvanized is another product where lead times have shrunk and the percentage of those reporting the mills as willing to negotiate pricing rose from 39 percent to 59 percent. Back in June, GI was reported at 5 percent.
A side note: The data for both lead times and negotiations comes from only service center and manufacturer respondents. We do not include commentary from the steel mills, trading companies, or toll processors in this particular group of questions.
To see an interactive history of our Steel Mill Negotiations data, visit our website here.

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

SMU Scrap Survey: Current and Future Sentiment tick down
SMU’s Current Sentiment Index for scrap decreased this month, a move mirrored by our Future Sentiment Index, according to the latest data from our ferrous scrap survey.

SMU Survey: Buyers’ Sentiment slips again, future outlook improves
Each of our Sentiment Indices continues to reflect that steel buyers are positive about their present and future business prospects, though that confidence has eased considerably compared to the beginning of the year.

SMU scrap market survey results now available
SMU’s October ferrous scrap market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

SMU flat-rolled market survey results now available
SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

SMU Survey: Sheet and plate lead times stabilize
Sheet and plate lead times saw minor shifts this week, according to SMU’s latest market survey. Sheet times have inched up over the last month but remain within days of multi-year lows, as they have since May. Plate lead times have bobbed within a tight range for months, hovering roughly a week longer than this time last year.