Analysis
February 26, 2026
Plate market sources bemoan unpredictable demand, availability, and lead times
Written by Kristen DiLandro
Plate industry sources said the market has been characterized by three factors lately: fewer domestic mills willing to fulfill spot buys, inconsistent lead times, and erratic demand.
When it comes to lead times, for example, some market participants said they had pushed out to nearly two months. That’s on the high end of SMU’s lead time range for plate.
Others said that one mill continued to process small spot orders as usual but wouldn’t process larger orders. And still others said certain domestic mills had opted out of fulfilling spot plate purchases altogether until unnamed future dates.
Market commentary
A source at one Mid-Atlantic service center claimed that one mill had moved customers to allocation and was not taking spot buys for plate. He said other domestic producers were still taking spot orders – but on extended lead times.
Meanwhile, a second Mid-Atlantic service source said the same producer alleged to be on allocation had offered him a short lead time for a small volume of plate.
That was hardly the only contradiction.
A Pennsylvania source said demand from infrastructure projects and data centers was on the rise. A source in Ohio, in contrast, said the market remained inconsistent and characterized by patchy demand.
“This market is driving me nuts! Tardy mill deliveries. Demand good one day and crap the next. And competitors still quote low transaction prices,” the Ohio source said.
A Midwest source agreed. “Business is slightly better one day, less great on another. Prices can’t move. Or if you raise them, you lose orders. We have lost some,” he said. He estimated lead times at six weeks on average. But he said he’d also heard of some mills having “many issues” and running late on deliveries as a result.
Prices
SMU’s weekly price assessment for plate stands at $1,080 per short ton (st) on average, up $25/st from $1,055/st in the prior assessment. A years ago, plate prices were slightly higher at $1,095/st on average, according to SMU’s pricing records. All prices are fob mill.
