• Skip to main content

    Analysis

    SMU Survey: Mill Lead Times Push Out Further

    Written by Laura Miller


    Mill lead times for flat-rolled products pushed out once again this week across the board, according to SMU’s steel buyers’ survey.

    With extended lead times, no lack of demand, and an end in sight for the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) strike, mills have a strong hand to play. The current environment is supportive of recent sheet price increases, and more are likely to come, as evidenced by U.S. Steel’s $100-per-ton push announced today.

    Laura Miller

    Read more from Laura Miller

    Latest in Analysis

    SMU Survey: Current Buyers’ Sentiment rises slightly as Future Sentiment dips

    SMU’s Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index ticked up slightly this week, while Future Sentiment fell, according to our latest market survey. Every two weeks, SMU polls thousands of steel-industry executives, asking them to rate their companies’ chances of success today and also three to six months down the road. We use their responses to calculate our proprietary Current and Future Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices, measures tracked since 2008.

    galvalume steel coil

    SMU Survey: Mill willingness to negotiate price at lowest levels since 2021

    The majority of steel buyers responding to our latest market survey reported that mills continue to hold a firm grip on prices. The share of buyers reporting that mills were negotiable fell this week to the lowest rate seen in over five years. Every two weeks, SMU surveys service center and manufacturer buyers asking if mills are negotiable on new spot sheet and plate orders. In this week’s survey, just 3% of respondents said mills were willing to talk price to secure an order (Figure 1). This is down 11 percentage points from our mid-October survey.