Steel buyers report that mills are willing to negotiate lower spot prices for the sheet products SMU surveys. It’s a different story in plate, where buyers find mills less willing to negotiate lower, according to SMU’s most recent survey data. The percentage of respondents saying steel mills were willing to talk price on plate stood at 29% this […]
Sheet prices slipped by $20-25 per ton as hot-rolled coil (HRC) failed to break through the $900 per ton threshold some market participants had predicted it would. SMU’s average hot-rolled coil (HRC) price stands at $870 per ton ($43.50 per cwt), down $20 per ton from a week ago. Numbers at or around that figure […]
Sheet prices slipped by $20-25 per ton as hot-rolled coil (HRC) failed to break through the $900 per ton threshold some market participants had predicted it would.
Sheet prices inched up this week on less discounting from major mills and on expectations that activity could improve in the coming weeks as OEMs return to the market following widespread summer shutdowns in early July. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price stands at $890 per ton ($44.50 per cwt), up $10 per ton from last week […]
Lead times were broadly stable this week, with sheet products rising modestly and plate unchanged from SMU’s market check two weeks ago. More meaningful movements in lead times should be seen in the coming weeks as buyers return to the market after the Fourth of July holiday. Should the mills’ recent sheet price hikes take […]
The overall mill negotiation rate dropped this week following the July 4th holiday, though plate bucked the trend, increasing by four percentage points, according to SMU’s most recent survey data. The percentage of respondents saying steel mills were willing to talk price on plate stood at 63% this week, up from 59% two weeks ago, while […]
Sheet prices were little changed this week amid typically slower activity around the Fourth of July. Market participants said that another round of sheet price hikes might come later this week or early next to shore up an initial round of price increases announced in mid-June. In the meantime, some of the heavy discounting that […]
A round of price increases announced by domestic mills in mid-June appears to have stabilized pricing for hot-rolled coil for the time being. Meanwhile, rumors of another round of price hikes ping-ponged around the market on Tuesday, with sources predicting another wave of hikes sometime between this week and mid-July. SMU’s average HRC prices stands […]
The overall mill negotiation rate was steady this week, though plate was an outlier, jumping 16 percentage points, according to SMU’s most recent survey data. The percentage of respondents saying steel mills were willing to negotiate price on plate rose to 59% this week, up from 33% two weeks ago. Every two weeks, SMU asks […]
In SMU’s market check this week, lead times for sheet and plate pulled back to some of the shortest times seen in several months. To see lead times this short, we have to go back to March for plate, January for galvanized sheet, and December for hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and Galvalume sheet. With mills pushing for […]
Sheet prices fell at a more modest pace this week after a sharp decline last week, as business seemed somewhat curbed. After Memorial Day prices fell, leading to the sharpest price drop since June 21, 2022. Now, the slide seems to have temporarily cooled, though sources indicated it was almost exclusively due to a lack of activity. SMU’s hot-rolled […]
Steel Market Update’s latest survey shows movements in lead times were varied across products this week, with hot rolled falling below the 5-week mark for the first time since early February. The average lead times for hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet all fell back slightly from our market check two weeks ago, while those for […]
The percentage of respondents saying steel mills were willing to negotiate on price stayed relatively flat this week, up one percentage point from two weeks ago, according to SMU’s most recent survey data. Plate bucked the general trend, being the only product surveyed by SMU to fall below 50% of respondents saying steel mills were […]
Sheet prices fell hard across the board this week as business ramped back up after Memorial Day. Recall that prices were steady last week largely because of a lack of activity following the holiday. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price now stands at $935 per ton ($46.75 per cwt), down $55 per ton a week ago and […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, contact Lindsey Fox at lindsey@steelmarketupdate.com. Prices of steelmaking raw materials have been largely on the decline over the last 30 days, as they were the month prior, the exception being pig […]
Sheet prices were flat or down only modestly this week, the first period of relative stability since mid-April. But several market participants said the flattish trend reflected limited activity around Memorial Day rather than stability in the broader market. Mills remain willing to negotiate spot prices and to match lower prices from their competitors, some […]
Steel buyers across all products surveyed by SMU this week are finding mills more willing to negotiate lower spot pricing vs. two weeks ago. Galvanized saw the percentage of buyers saying mills were willing to talk price climb to 100% this week, up from 90% at the previous market check, while cold rolled rose 28 percentage […]
Steel mill lead times have encountered some of the biggest two-week declines we’ve seen for some time, to the lowest levels we’ve seen since mid-March, according to SMU’s latest steel market survey data. Hot rolled in particular saw the steepest two-week decline since late January 2022, when lead times dropped by 0.86 weeks. This week, […]
SMU’s domestic hot-rolled coil price has fallen below $1,000 per ton ($50 per cwt) for the first time since early March as a broad-based sheet price decline picks up speed. Our HRC price now stands at $990 per ton on average, down $50 per ton from $1,040 per ton last week and off $170 per […]
Prices for steel sheet continue to move lower as market participants debate how far and how fast prices might fall before they reach bottom. Some are also questioning when and how quickly prices might rebound. But most don’t see that happening until the back half of the year. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price has in the […]
Steel mill lead times continue to decline for hot rolled, galvanized, and Galvalume products, while cold rolled and plate ticked up slightly, according to SMU’s latest steel market survey data. Lead times took a downard turn in mid-April after climbing for nearly five months. SMU’s hot-rolled lead time is 4 to 8 weeks with an average of […]
Steel sheet buyers find mills more willing to negotiate lower spot pricing now than at any time since late November, according to SMU data. All the sheet products SMU tracks saw mills more willing to talk price this week. Plate bucked that trend. Every two weeks, SMU asks steel buyers whether domestic mills are willing to negotiate […]
Sheet price continued to decline this week on increased supply, shorter lead times, and aggressive pricing from some domestic mills. Also pressuring steel prices were expectations of lower scrap prices and import competition. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price now stands at $1,070 per ton ($53.50 per cwt), down $35 per ton from $1,105 per ton last […]
US hot-rolled coil prices slipped for a third consecutive week as market participants debated whether and when the declines might accelerate. Another big question: where the new floor for HRC might be? SMU’s hot-rolled coil price dipped to $1,105 per ton ($55.25 per cwt), down $15 per ton from last week and down $55 per […]
The percentage of steel buyers saying mills are willing to negotiate spot pricing jumped above 60% for the first time since late December, according to SMU data. All the products SMU surveys showed substantial gains this week, with plate climbing to 40% of buyers saying mills were willing to talk price vs. 0% two weeks ago. Every two weeks, […]
Sheet prices fell across the board this week on the heels of shorter lead times, higher-than-anticipated inventory levels, and potential import competition. Some market participants predicted that further declines would be “managed” by a more consolidated flat-rolled steel industry. Others said they feared that prices could come down quickly given how sharply they rose in […]
Hot-rolled coil prices edged downward for the first time since late November, according to SMU’s latest check of the market. The dip in HRC prices comes after we saw lead times contract slightly, an uptick in the number of mills willing to negotiate lower prices, and a modest increase in sheet inventories. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price […]
Steel mill lead times are down for the first time since January, according to SMU’s latest steel market survey data. Lead times seem to be tapering off after climbing week over week for the past few months. SMU’s hot-rolled lead time is approximately 6.1 weeks, a 0.6-week drop from two weeks ago. While numbers are currently […]
Buyers of most sheet products are finding mills much more willing to talk price this week, while this number fell to 0% for plate buyers, according to SMU data. With mixed results across the products SMU surveys, galvanized products showed the biggest gain, increasing 24 percentage points to 57% of buyers saying mills were willing to […]
Hot-rolled coil prices marked a third consecutive week of very modest gains amid questions about whether the market was at or near a peak. Steel Market Update’s hot-rolled coil prices stands at $1,160 per ton ($58 per cwt), up $5 per ton from last week. HRC prices have risen only $20 per ton since March […]