SMU Survey: Mills more negotiable on spot orders

Mills are more willing to negotiate spot prices for both sheet and plate products, according to our latest market survey results.

SMU polls hundreds of steel buyers at service centers and manufacturing companies every other week to see if domestic mills are willing to negotiate prices for new spot orders. This week, 90% of respondents said mills were negotiable on price. That’s up six percentage points from our previous survey two weeks earlier (Figure 1).

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.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.