Analysis
August 6, 2026
SMU Survey: Buyers continue to report limited mill negotiability
Written by Brett Linton
According to most steel buyers responding to our market survey this week, mills are unwilling to budge on new sheet and plate spot order prices. Negotiation rates have been low for most of this year, recently falling to one of the lowest levels recorded in almost five years.
Every two weeks, SMU surveys an array of service center and manufacturer buyers asking if mills are negotiable on new spot sheet and plate orders. In this week’s survey, only 13% of respondents said mills were willing to talk price to secure an order (Figure 1). This is up by three percentage points compared to our mid-July survey, which was the lowest measure recorded since September 2021.
Historically low negotiability across sheet and plate
Most of the sheet products we track saw marginally higher negotiation rates this week, while plate declined (Figure 2). All products other than galvanized remain near historical lows. Current rates are:
- Hot rolled: 6% of buyers said mills are negotiable on price, up two percentage points from our prior survey. This is the third-lowest rate recorded in the past five years.
- Cold rolled: up two points to 9%, recovering from the near-five-year low set two weeks prior.
- Galvanized: up 18 points to 29%, previously at the lowest rate seen since September 2021.
- Galvalume: up six points to 19%, nine points above the four-year low witnessed in late June.
- Plate: down nine points to 9%, just one point higher than the three-year low rate recorded in late June.
Buyer comments:
“Not able to get much movement [on hot rolled]. Have started to see some additional availability at current contract suppliers.”
“Not enough [hot rolled] available to negotiate.”
“Getting tons is difficult for zinc-coated products. Not much spot in the market.”
“[Galvalume is the] hardest flat-rolled product to source right now.”
“[Negotiable on galvanized] in a small range depending on volume.”
Note: SMU surveys active steel buyers every other week to gauge their steel suppliers’ willingness to negotiate new order prices. The results reflect current steel demand and changing spot pricing trends. Premium members can view an interactive history of our steel mill negotiations data on our website.
