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    February 19, 2017

    Steel Mill Lead Times: Stable to Slightly Shorter

    Written by John Packard

    Steel mill lead times, the time it takes for a new order to be produced by the domestic flat rolled steel mills, remain essentially unchanged from what Steel Market Update reported at the beginning of February. The lead times being reported are compiled by Steel Market Update as part of our flat rolled steel market trends analysis. The number of weeks shown by product are the average of the responses received from our questionnaire. Actual mill lead times will vary by mill and steel buyers need to be in contact with their steel mill suppliers to find out where their mill specific lead times are being promised.

    Hot rolled lead times, at just shy four and a half weeks (4.40), are consistent with levels reported over the past couple of months. What is interesting is the average HRC lead time now is a week longer than what we reported one year prior (3.55).

    John Packard

    Read more from John Packard

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