SMU survey: Current Buyers' Sentiment wanes, Future Sentiment rises

SMU’s Current Buyers’ Sentiment Index stood at +58 this week, down eight points from two weeks earlier (Figure 1). The index reached a high of +70 last November and has predominantly stayed in the 60s since then.

SMU’s Future Buyers’ Sentiment Index measures buyers’ feelings about business conditions three to six months in the future. The index jumped 10 points this week to +68, rebounding from a seven-month low (Figure 2). The last time we saw a survey-to-survey change this high was in September.

Measured as a three-month moving average, the Current Sentiment 3MMA eased to +63.67 vs +65.00 two weeks prior. (Figure 3). 

This week’s Future Sentiment 3MMA slightly declined to +63.33 vs. +63.50 at our previous market check (Figure 4).

What SMU respondents had to say:

“High-cost inventory arrived in January and continues to flow into our building in February. Margin compression has been inevitable.”

“Despite pricing slide, we are very busy with spot orders.”

“Starting to see a resurgence in construction markets.”

“We are making adjustments to achieve success with the market changes.”

“We have faced a challenging month in securing orders, so we will not meet the forecasted number.”

“Depends on the weather.”

About the SMU Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index

The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index measures the attitude of buyers and sellers of flat-rolled steel products in North America. It is a proprietary product developed by Steel Market Update for the North American steel industry. Tracking steel buyers’ sentiment is helpful in predicting their future behavior.

Positive readings run from +10 to +100. A positive reading means the meter on the right-hand side of our home page will fall in the green area, indicating optimistic sentiment. Negative readings run from -10 to -100. They result in the meter on our homepage trending into the red, indicating pessimistic sentiment. A reading of “0” (+/- 10) indicates a neutral sentiment (or slightly optimistic or pessimistic), which is most likely an indicator of a shift occurring in the marketplace. Sentiment is measured twice per month via SMU surveys. If you would like to participate in our survey, please contact us at info@steelmarketupdate.com.