SMU Data and Models

Steel Mill More Willing to Negotiate Flat Rolled Pricing

May 18, 2017

Since early Monday morning of this week, Steel Market Update (SMU) has been conducting an inquiry into the flat rolled steel markets. We discovered lead times have shrunk which usually relates to lower steel prices and more willingness by the domestic steel mills to negotiate spot prices being offered into the market. SMU inquired on the subject of mill negotiations during our survey of the flat rolled markets and found the mills as being willing to discuss pricing on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels.

The trend toward flexibility on pricing began a couple of months ago which can be seen in the graphic below.

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.