Service Center Inventories
SMU surveys key data providers each month to gather the latest information on steel sheet and plate inventories.
An array of proprietary products
Explore our proprietary steel market insights. Key features include service center inventories, flat rolled lead times, steel buyers’ sentiment indices, mill negotiation rates, and more. Access everything you need to track market momentum and make informed decisions
Survey derived insights
Access SMU’s proprietary mill lead times, negotiation rates, steel buyers’ sentiment indices, and more. The data comes from SMU’s surveys, which have been helping our subscribers keep their finger on the pulse of the steel market for more than a decade
Service center inventory and shipment data
Stay on top of the sheet and plate markets with SMU’s monthly service center shipment and inventory reports. When you know how you stack up against your peers, you can better manage your own stocks
Flat-Rolled Lead Times
Active steel buyers provide sheet and plate mill lead times. Members can track pricing trends and explore historical data.
Steel Buyers’ Sentiment
Track how steel buyers and sellers feel about their company’s prospects today and in the next 3-6 months.
Mill Spot Price Negotiations
We survey active steel buyers on pricing plans for domestic sheet and plate; results reveal shifting spot trends.
Overall Demand
Track steel demand across the supply chain and whether buyers report it as improving, steady, or declining.
Key Market Indicators
Explore combined economic and industry metrics that summarize essential data and price indices relevant to the steel market.
Latest news
Final Thoughts
We’ve got some exciting announcements to make about the Tampa Steel Conference, which is now less than a month away! First, I’m very happy to say that Worthington Steel President and CEO Geoff Gilmore will be joining Kloeckner Metals CEO John Ganem on the stage for a fireside chat with my colleague David Schollaert.
SSAB, Nucor, and Oregon Steel aim to push plate prices higher
SSAB Americas, Nucor, and Oregon Steel Mills all announced higher plate prices on Friday.
Beige Book: Most districts report modest economic growth
Economic activity across the US increased at a light-to-modest pace, according to the US Federal Reserve’s (The Fed) latest Beige Book report.
CRU outlook: Further upside for US and EU sheet prices in the coming weeks
Sheet prices are set to stay weak in China, hold steady in India, while they are set to rise in the EU and US due to protectionist limits on imports.
Leibowitz: Can tariffs fix China’s trade ascendancy?
Last week, the government of China reported a trade balance of $1.12 trillion in 2025, the largest merchandise trade surplus in history. And this surplus was despite massive tariffs imposed by the United States and other countries, partly in an effort to rein in China’s trade juggernaut.
Sheet buyers remain cautious about market conditions
Though they’re hopeful, domestic sheet market sources didn’t share a bullish outlook on the market this week.
AMU: Labor agreement timelines converge in US aluminum
As more contracts are up for negotiation in 2026, labor is poised play a larger role in operational planning at a time when trade issues and high prices also are in play.
Apparent steel supply slips in October
The amount of finished steel that entered the US market contracted from September to October, driven primarily by slowing domestic mill shipments, according to SMU’s analysis of Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data
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