Steel Mills More Willing to Negotiate Lower Prices on New Orders

Steel mills appear to be loosening their firm grip on price negotiations, according to buyers polled in our latest steel market survey. Over half of hot rolled steel buyers now report that mills are willing to talk price to secure an order.

Every two weeks, SMU asks respondents: Are you finding domestic mills willing to negotiate spot pricing on new orders placed this week? On average this week, 65% steel buyers reported that mills are not willing to negotiate lower prices on new orders. While somewhat high, this rate has declined in each of our market checks over the past month. As we saw in mid-April, multiple buyers commented that they expect mills to begin to budge more on price to secure new orders in coming weeks.