Analysis
August 20, 2026
SMU Survey: Mill negotiability rate falls to multi-year low
Written by Brett Linton
Most steel buyers who responded to our market survey this week reported that mills are holding a firm grip on sheet and plate prices. The share of buyers reporting that mills were negotiable fell to the lowest rate seen in almost five years. Negotiation rates for three sheet products are down to multi-year lows.
Every other week, SMU surveys an array of service center and manufacturer buyers to ask whether mills are negotiable on new spot sheet and plate orders. In this week’s survey, only 9% of respondents said mills were willing to talk price to secure an order (Figure 1). This is down four percentage points from our early August survey and marks the lowest rate recorded since September 2021.
Historically low negotiability across sheet products
Negotiation rates for three of the four sheet products we track touched multi-year lows this week, while cold rolled and plate marginally increased (Figure 2). Current rates are:
- Hot rolled: 4% of buyers said mills are negotiable on price, down two percentage points from our prior survey. This marks the lowest rate recorded in the last five years.
- Cold rolled: up six points to 15%, marginally recovering from the near-five-year low of 7% seen one month ago.
- Galvanized: down 23 points to 6%, now the lowest rate seen since July 2021.
- Galvalume: down 12 points to a near five-year low of 7%, surpassing the four-year low set back in June.
- Plate: up ten points to 19%, one of the higher rates recorded in recent months but still historically weak.
Buyer comments
“Not [negotiable on hot rolled] as far as I know.”
“Not enough [hot rolled] available to negotiate.”
“[Negotiable on cold rolled] for large orders.”
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.
