Steel Mill Negotiations: Buyers Gain Leverage

In the cold rolled segment, 91 percent said they have found mills willing to negotiate, up from 67 percent in mid-August. Only 9 percent of respondents reported current mill prices on cold rolled as non-negotiable.

Likewise, prices on coated products appear to be flexible. In the galvanized sector, 87 percent said the mills were open to price discussions, compared with 75 percent last month. In Galvalume, 71 percent have found mills willing to negotiate, up from just 50 percent one month ago.

Clearly, talks have loosened in the past month or two. Whether it reflects normal seasonality in demand or some other factors at work is less clear.

Note: SMU surveys active steel buyers twice each month to gauge the willingness of their steel suppliers to negotiate pricing. The results reflect current steel demand and changing spot pricing trends. SMU provides our members with a number of ways to interact with current and historical data. To see an interactive history of our Steel Mill Negotiations data, visit our website here.