Steel Mill Price Negotiations: It's Still a Buyer's Market

The power position in price negotiations between steel mills and steel purchasers has seen a complete turn around in the past six months, transitioning from a seller’s market in March and April to a strong buyer’s market today. According to our latest steel market survey, the percentage of buyers reporting that mills are willing to talk price to secure an order grew yet again this week. A high willingness to negotiate has been evident in each of our market checks since May.

Every two weeks, Steel Market Update asks hundreds of steel buyers the question: Are you finding domestic mills are willing to negotiate spot pricing on new orders? On average this week, 89% of steel buyers reported that mills were willing to negotiate lower prices on new orders. As shown in Figure 1, the average negotiation rate has steadily grown in each of our surveys since mid-August. Negotiation rates are now back in line with the previous high levels seen in July and early August. Recall we saw negotiation rates as low as 16% in March.