Market Data
April 2, 2026
SMU Survey: Sheet and plate lead times stabilize at multi-year highs
Written by Brett Linton
Steel mill lead times stabilized this week, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey. Production times for sheet and plate products remain at or near multi-year highs.
Sheet production times are similar to the highs we saw in late 2023. Plate production times are currently the highest recorded since late 2021 (nearly four and a half years). Most lead times are about half a week longer than they were at the start of the year.
The average production time for hot-rolled coil is six and a half weeks. Cold rolled and coated products are around eight weeks. Plate is just over seven weeks.
Table 1 summarizes current lead times and recent changes by product (click to expand)
Compared to our previous market check, three of our lead-time ranges saw minor shifts this week:
- The longest hot rolled lead time considered increased from eight weeks to nine.
- The longest cold rolled lead time considered increased from 10 weeks to 11.
- The longest plate lead time considered declined from nine weeks to eight.
Buyers continue to expect stability
Most respondents this week (74%) expect lead times will remain stable two months from now, slightly higher than recent surveys. The remainder is split; 14% believe lead times will continue to extend from here and 12% forecast contractions. Comments included:
“Flat – minis will be a week shorter and integrated mills will still be late.”
“Flat – demand isn’t great.”
“Flat – demand is stable but instability in the broader market may reduce demand.”
“Flat – automotive is down but the Data Centers are increasing.”
“Flat – only a few mills are extended.”
“Flat – if not extending they will remain extended.”
“Seasonal but flat as opposed to typical contracting in early summer.”
“Extending due to mill outages and less imports.”
“Extending – supply crunch. Every toll order I get seems to be rush jobs.”
“Contracting – we are expecting a pretty weak market in the summer, post-spring outage season.”
“Contracting – mills will be coming out of maintenance stops.”
Trends
Lead times can be calculated on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis to better highlight trends. All of our sheet and plate 3MMAs extended again this week, a trend seen since last November (Figure 2).
Sheet 3MMA lead times are roughly a week and a half longer than the two-year low rates seen last September, though just three to six days longer than levels seen one year ago. The latest plate 3MMA is about a week longer than it was six months ago and a week and a half above year-ago levels.
Average lead times by product across the past three months were: hot rolled at 6.0 weeks, cold rolled at 7.7 weeks, galvanized at 7.4 weeks, Galvalume at 8.0 weeks, and plate at 6.4 weeks.
Note: These lead times are based on the average from manufacturers and steel service centers participating in this week’s SMU market trends analysis survey. SMU measures lead times as the time it takes from when an order is placed with the mill to when it is processed and ready for shipping, not including delivery time to the buyer. Our lead times do not predict what any individual may get from any specific mill supplier. Consult your mill rep for actual lead times. Premium members can view an interactive history of our steel mill lead times data on our website. If you’d like to participate in our surveys, contact smu@crugroup.com.
