Tag: final thoughts

Flat-rolled steel prices have been largely falling since the beginning of the year. Even after a slight bump in early April when mills tried to halt the downtrend, the decrease resumed.

First off, we hope everyone had a safe and happy July 4th holiday, with fireworks seen and BBQs attended. Many parts of the country are quite toasty at the moment, signaling that, yes, summer has indeed arrived. And looking at our most recent survey results, the summer doldrums have arrived as well.

The latest SMU market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.”

It’s been a slow start to the week as far as news goes, something you’d expect ahead of a shortened Independence Day week. That said, it’s not as if transactions have completely ground to a halt. (Prices continue to drift lower.) And while news might be slow, rumors of low-priced deals, price hikes, and trade cases seem to have filled that void.

Domestic plate prices have been on a historic run since they began surging in January 2021. Tags reached an all-time high of $1,940 per short ton (st) in May 2022, though they have mostly trended lower over the past two years.