Steel Mill Lead Times: Still Extended

Mill lead times on flat rolled steel orders continue to stretch as buyers replenish inventories in the first quarter. One of the key indicators tracked by Steel Market Update, lead times reflect the activity at the mills and the order levels they are seeing from their customers. About 9 percent of respondents to this week’s SMU market trends questionnaire report that lead times are highly extended, while an additional 69 percent call them slightly longer than usual. Another 23 percent consider lead times normal for this time of year. None consider them shorter. SMU’s latest data indicates that the average lead time for hot rolled remains around five weeks and cold rolled about seven weeks, while galvanized and Galvalume lead times have extended to a bit over seven weeks.

Hot rolled lead times now average 4.95 weeks, up from 4.50 weeks a month ago. Hot rolled lead times have extended by almost two weeks since steel prices began their rise in October.