Steel Mill Negotiations: Willingness to Talk Price Remains High

After contracting in mid-August, the percentage of buyers reporting that mills’ prices are negotiable grew this week. All but 15% of the steel executives polled this week reported that mills are willing to talk price to secure an order, according to our steel market surveys. A high willingness to negotiate has been evident in each of our checks since early May.

SMU polls hundreds of steel buyers every other week with the question: Are you finding domestic mills are willing to negotiate spot pricing on new orders? On average this week, 85% of steel buyers reported that mills were willing to negotiate lower prices on new orders. This rate is up from 77% in mid-August, but down compared to the 88-89% rates seen in July and early August. Recall we saw negotiation rates as low as 16% in March.