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 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. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]
SMU Survey: Buyers’ Sentiment rises but caution remains
After reaching multi-month lows in mid-May, SMU’s Buyers’ Sentiment Indices modestly recovered in our latest survey.
SMU Survey: Sheet lead times fall to multi-year low
Mill lead times shrunk this week for all of the sheet products tracked by SMU and held steady on plate, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.
SMU Survey: Mill willingness to negotiate keeps on climbing
Most steel buyers responding to our latest market survey report that domestic mills are willing to talk price to secure new orders. Mill negotiability has continued to rise across all sheet and plate products we track, now at some of the highest levels recorded since late 2024.
Steelmaking raw material costs mixed through May
According to our latest analysis, prices for four of the seven steelmaking raw materials we track increased from April to May. However, select materials saw a collective 1% decline month over month and are down 4% compared to three months ago.