SMU Data and Models

Service Center Inventories: Where We Stand as October Ends

Written by John Packard

October 29, 2017

As we approach the end of October, SMU wanted to update our readers on the flat rolled inventory information we have been collecting from the steel service centers in the United States.

At the end of July, we began gathering the number of months of supply being held at a select number of service centers. The service centers reported inventories averaging 2.73 months of supply. At the end of August, the number of service centers was expanded and the number of months of supply remained stable at 2.70 months.

We added a few more service centers at the end of September and the number of months of supply increased to 2.87 months.

Of the service centers reporting at the end of September, 25 percent reported inventories as being lower than the end of August, 10 percent reported the same number as the prior month and 65 percent reported inventories as being higher than what they told us at the end of August.

Those with lower inventories many times reported only modest changes, less than 0.25 months of supply. Those reporting higher inventories ranged from less than 0.25 to over 1.0 month of supply from the prior month.

We will begin the process of identifying inventory levels and the rate of change during the week of Nov. 6. Our hope is to publish our findings to those involved in the process by the 10th of November. We will provide data to the broader market the following week on or about the same time as MSCI reports its data.

If you are a prime flat rolled or plate service center and you would like to provide data on a confidential basis to Steel Market Update for use in our service center inventory analysis, please contact John Packard at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by phone: 800-432-3475. We have already signed confidentiality agreements with some providers and we are willing to do so with your company, as well.

John Packard

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