Steel Products
Steel Buyers: Actively Playing or Watching From the Sidelines?
Written by Becca Moczygemba
August 19, 2023
Though steel prices continue to drop, more buyers are holding off on finalizing transactions.
Steel Market Update’s survey this week asked participants how they are doing under current market conditions. SMU’s current buyer’s gauge shows that 55% of participants are active buyers, while 45% are on the sidelines.
When comparing current buying patterns to recent weeks, the number of engaged participants has tapered off.
At the beginning of Q2, 62% of buyers were active and 38% were idle. Towards the end of the quarter, buying slowed to 57% active and 43% inactive. Then, the start of the third quarter took us back up to 69% engagement with 31% waiting to make deals. Though there are always fluctuations in the market, the closest we’ve been to those figures was back in the third quarter of 2022 when it was 56% to 44%, respectively.
Is it the effects of outside factors or something else?
Here’s what active participants had to say:
“We are active in restocking outages and contract obligations.”
“Service centers are always buying at least some steel.”
“Demand has been decent.”
“We’re buying for contractual obligations only.”
Less engaged buyers shared their thoughts as well:
“Our inventory is in good shape. We’re waiting for the market to reveal itself, one way or another.”
“The demand or willingness of customers to build inventory right now is not there.”
“Like the last few months, we’re just buying hand-to-mouth. Local service centers are lowering their prices every week.”
“Our inventory levels are good and demand is slowing.”
“We’ve already purchased for the first quarter.”
Becca Moczygemba
Read more from Becca MoczygembaLatest in Steel Products
CRU aluminum: Extrusion shipments, earnings highlights
Latest AA extrusion shipment report shows persistently weak demand The US Aluminum Association released its latest shipment report for extruded products. According to the report, shipments in March 2024 totaled 383.2 million pounds, representing a drop of 10.6% y/y but a rise of 4.5% m/m. For the YTD period through March, total shipments are now […]
Active rig counts slip in US and Canada
The number of active rigs in the US is now at the lowest level seen in over two years, while Canadian rigs have fallen to a four-month low.
US CR tags still nearly 30% more than imports
Foreign cold-rolled (CR) coil remains much less expensive than domestic product, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.
Steel imports stabilized in March
Steel imports held steady in March, up just 1% from February according to preliminary Census data released earlier this week.
Cliffs working on a transforming solution for Weirton mill
Cleveland-Cliffs is working on a solution for its recently idled mill in Weirton, W.Va., that will address pent-up demand for transformers, increase the need for its electrical steel, and get its workforce back to work.