SMU survey: Mills' willingness to negotiate spot prices continues to decline

Three out of four of our market survey respondents reported that steel mills are open to negotiating prices for new orders this week. That’s a slight decline from our previous market check.

Every two weeks, SMU asks steel buyers whether domestic mills are willing to negotiate lower spot pricing on new orders. As shown in Figure 1, 75% of all participants surveyed this week reported mills were willing to talk price on new orders. This is five percentage points lower than the rate of two weeks prior and down from our early-June high of 92%. This is now the lowest negotiation rate seen in the last three months, tied with the rate in early May.

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a digital operations analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.