SMU Data and Models
Steel Mill Lead Times: HR Average Under Five Weeks
Written by Tim Triplett
August 23, 2018
Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level—the longer the lead time the busier the mill. Lead times on hot rolled and cold rolled steel products have remained flat over the past couple of weeks, while coated products saw some shortening of delivery times, according to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends data. Lead times for hot rolled now average less than five weeks, cold rolled less than seven weeks, and galvanized and Galvalume right around seven weeks. Mill lead times are gradually moving back toward more typical delivery times.
Hot rolled lead times now average 4.62 weeks, about the same as in early August. Current lead times for hot rolled are down from 5.18 weeks a month ago, and down from the April peak of 5.73 weeks. This time last year, hot rolled lead times averaged 4.20 weeks.
Cold rolled lead times, at 6.52 weeks, have seen little change since early August, but are down from 7.30 weeks a month ago. Last year at this time, CR lead times averaged 6.15 weeks.
The current lead time for galvanized steel is 7.05 weeks, down slightly from 7.29 weeks earlier in the month. Galvanized lead times are only a bit extended compared with a year ago when lead times on spot orders averaged 6.50 weeks.
At 7.00 weeks, Galvalume lead times are down from 7.89 weeks in mid-July.
Note: These lead times are based on the average from manufacturers and steel service centers who participated in this week’s SMU market trends analysis. Our lead times do not predict what any individual may get from any specific mill supplier. Look to your mill rep for actual lead times. Our lead times are meant only to identify trends and changes in the marketplace. To see an interactive history of our Steel Mill Lead Times data, visit our website here.
Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in SMU Data and Models
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’ Sentiment rises but caution remains
After reaching multi-month lows in mid-May, SMU’s Buyers’ Sentiment Indices modestly recovered in our latest survey.
SMU Survey: Sheet lead times fall to multi-year low
Mill lead times shrunk this week for all of the sheet products tracked by SMU and held steady on plate, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.
SMU Survey: Mill willingness to negotiate keeps on climbing
Most steel buyers responding to our latest market survey report that domestic mills are willing to talk price to secure new orders. Mill negotiability has continued to rise across all sheet and plate products we track, now at some of the highest levels recorded since late 2024.
Steelmaking raw material costs mixed through May
According to our latest analysis, prices for four of the seven steelmaking raw materials we track increased from April to May. However, select materials saw a collective 1% decline month over month and are down 4% compared to three months ago.