SMU Survey: Most buyers say mills remain negotiable on prices

The majority of steel buyers responding to this week’s market survey continue to report that mills are open to negotiating spot prices on sheet and plate products.

Every other week, SMU polls thousands of buyers to ask if domestic mills are willing to negotiate on new spot order pricing. This week, 94% of respondents said mills were willing to talk price to secure an order. This is six percentage points higher than our previous survey, just 1 point shy of the highest rate seen in our 13-year data history (Figure 1).