SMU Data and Models

Steel Mills Continue to Negotiate Pricing on Most Flat Rolled Products
Written by John Packard
April 6, 2017
As with steel mill lead times discussed earlier in this newsletter, those responding to our flat rolled market trends questionnaire reported the steel mills as modestly willing to negotiate all but Galvalume flat rolled steel pricing.
Thirty-eight percent of our respondents reported the domestic mills as willing to negotiate hot rolled pricing. This is 9 percent lower than what we saw during our middle of March analysis.
Almost 50 percent (48%) of those responding reported the mills as willing to negotiate cold rolled pricing.
The number dropped to 40 percent for galvanized and 20 percent for Galvalume.
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 Survey: Current Sentiment tumbles on tariffs, uncertainty, soft demand
SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices moved in opposing directions this week. Our Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index dropped to one of the lowest levels recorded in over five years, while Future Buyers’ Sentiment inched higher.

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 report little change in sheet and plate lead times
Steel buyers report steady lead times for sheet and plate products, a soft-sideways trend we've seen since May.

SMU Survey: Mills remain flexible on pricing, buyers say
The majority of steel buyers responding to our market survey this week continue to say that mills are negotiable on new spot order prices. Negotiation rates have remained high since May.

Service centers: Mill orders improve in July
SMU’s Mill Order Index (MOI) moved higher in July after rebounding the month prior. The shift comes after mill orders declined from March through May.