Market Data
May 14, 2026
SMU Survey: Sheet and plate lead times remain extended
Written by Brett Linton
Steel mill lead times remain stretched for both sheet and plate products, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey. Production times began trending higher last November and have touched multi-year highs in recent weeks. This week’s figures are roughly a week longer than those seen at the start of the year.
- The average production time for hot-rolled coil inched up to seven weeks, the highest recorded since November 2023.
- Cold rolled jumped up to just under eight and a half weeks, levels last seen in December 2023.
- Coated products are just over eight weeks, a slight reduction compared to the two-year highs seen in March and April.
- Plate held at just over seven weeks, marginally lower than the four-year high set one month ago.
Table 1 summarizes current lead times and recent changes by product (click to expand)
Compared to our previous market check, all five of our lead-time ranges shifted this week:
- The longest hot rolled, cold rolled, and galvanized lead time we considered increased from 10 weeks to 11.
- The shortest Galvalume lead time considered decreased from seven weeks to six, while the longest considered increased from 10 weeks to 12.
- The shortest plate lead time considered decreased from six weeks to five.
Buyers predict stability
Roughly half of responding buyers (56%) predicted lead times will be flat two months from now, in line with our previous survey. The remainder was split, with 25% expecting lead times to extend further and 19% foreseeing contractions. Comments included:
“Flat – demand is stable, but instability in the broader market may reduce it.”
“Flat – not seeing that they will improve based on order strength and backlogs.”
“Extending – most mills are extending right now.”
“Extending – restricted supply and fewer imports.”
“Contracting – I mean at some point imports come in and the domestics get caught up, right?”
“Contracting – in two months inventories will have recovered from their relatively low levels and lead times will start to drop.”
Smoothing out the noise
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 further this week, continuing a six-month trend (Figure 2).
Sheet 3MMA lead times have extended by nearly two weeks compared to the two-year lows seen last September. Production times are about a week longer than they were this time last year. Our latest plate 3MMA is almost two weeks longer than it was both six months and one year ago.
Average lead times by product across the past three months were: hot rolled at 6.4 weeks, cold rolled at 7.9 weeks, galvanized at 7.7 weeks, Galvalume at 8.2 weeks, and plate at 6.9 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.
