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    Market Data

    July 20, 2023

    Mills More Willing to Negotiate Lower Sheet Prices: SMU Survey

    Steel buyers report that mills are willing to negotiate lower spot prices for the sheet products SMU surveys. It’s a different story in plate, where buyers find mills less willing to negotiate lower, according to SMU’s most recent survey data. 

    The percentage of respondents saying steel mills were willing to talk price on plate stood at 29% this week, off from 63% two weeks ago. Galvanized, in contrast, increased six percentage points to 90% in the same comparison. 

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    Apparent steel supply remains historically strong through August

    The volume of finished steel that entered the US market increased 1% from July to August to the second-highest monthly level recorded in the past four years, according to SMU’s analysis of recently released Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. Apparent steel supply is calculated by combining domestic mill shipments and finished US steel imports, then subtracting total US exports. It can be used as a proxy for domestic steel demand. Supply has remained historically strong since May, when it surpassed the 9 million st mark it had previously been beneath for four years.

    US shipments of heating and cooling equipment slow further in August

    Total shipments of heating and cooling equipment cooled further in August, according to the latest figures from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). After falling 11% month on month (m/m) in July, shipments slipped another 10% in August. The monthly pace marks the third-slowest shipment rate year-to-date. Shipments of water heaters, air conditioners, and heat pumps declined m/m, while warm-air furnace shipments picked up. Compared with a year earlier, only air conditioners and heat pumps increased.