SMU Data and Models

SMU Survey: Most buyers report mills still willing to talk price
Written by Brett Linton
November 21, 2024
Most steel buyers SMU polled this week reported that mills remain willing to negotiate new order pricing. Negotiation rates have been high for the majority of 2024, recently peaking in late October.
Every two weeks, SMU surveys hundreds of steel market executives. asking whether domestic mills are open to negotiating prices on new spot orders. This week, 85% of our buyers reported that mills were willing to talk price to secure an order (Figure 1). This rate has eased each of the last two surveys, but this week’s is still one of the higher levels recorded in the past year.

Negotiation rates by product
As seen in Figure 2, negotiation rates remain high among both sheet and plate products. Negotiation rates were highest for hot-rolled, coated, and plate products; all were close to the 90% mark. The most significant change observed from our previous survey was on cold rolled, with rates declining from earlier this month. According to surveyed steel buyers, negotiation rates by product this week stand at:
- Hot rolled: 89%, up 1 percentage point from Nov. 6 and the highest rate recorded since mid-July.
- Cold rolled: 71%, down 10 percentage points and the lowest rate recorded since mid-September.
- Galvanized: 89%, down 6 percentage points.
- Galvalume: 93%, up 5 percentage points.
- Plate: 88%, down 4 percentage points.

Here’s what some survey respondents had to say:
“Negotiable on galvanized, but not like they were a couple months ago.”
“Minis = yes/no, BOFs = no.”
“Some mills have headed to the sidelines, but time will tell how long that lasts.”
“Domestic plate mills are hungry. Excited post-election, obviously, but still showing weak demand in the immediate term.”
“Depending on the size, grade, and tons, you might be able to request a deal on plate. Maybe get it, maybe not.”
“Not every mill.”
Note: SMU surveys active steel buyers every other week to gauge their steel suppliers’ willingness to negotiate new order prices. The results reflect current steel demand and changing spot pricing trends. Visit our website for an interactive history of our steel mill negotiations data.

Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in SMU Data and Models

SMU Scrap Survey: Current and Future Sentiment tick down
SMU’s Current Sentiment Index for scrap decreased this month, a move mirrored by our Future Sentiment Index, according to the latest data from our ferrous scrap survey.

SMU Survey: Buyers’ Sentiment slips again, future outlook improves
Each of our Sentiment Indices continues to reflect that steel buyers are positive about their present and future business prospects, though that confidence has eased considerably compared to the beginning of the year.

SMU scrap market survey results now available
SMU’s October ferrous scrap market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

SMU flat-rolled market survey results now available
SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

SMU Survey: Sheet and plate lead times stabilize
Sheet and plate lead times saw minor shifts this week, according to SMU’s latest market survey. Sheet times have inched up over the last month but remain within days of multi-year lows, as they have since May. Plate lead times have bobbed within a tight range for months, hovering roughly a week longer than this time last year.