Tag: Lead Times

According to the latest findings from SMU’s survey, more respondents answered that President Trump’s tariff policies have been helpful to their businesses than in the prior survey. 

Factors like fluctuating demand, import availability, domestic product lead times, fuel surcharges, and end-user consumption left plate sources feeling unsettled.  

Participants in the hot- and cold-rolled coils market are optimistic about the market's health.

MU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

Service centers held only 2.24 months of supply (49.3 days of supply) of sheet products in March, according to our latest figures. If you check our archives, you’ll see that's the lowest sheet inventories we’ve seen since June 2021 – which was hardly a bad year for steel.

Steel mill lead times remained elevated this week, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.

Participants in the galvanized steel market remain encouraged by strengthening product prices, even as increases unfold at a subdued pace.  

Sheet market participants said they expect hot-rolled coil prices to continue to rise. A Midwest service center source said some mills are not taking spot orders. And even on the contract side, certain mills are “keeping customers at the ‘middle’ of their contract buys to help get lead-times back into shape,” he said. That’s a […]

Nucor plans to increase its list price for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $1,040 per short ton (st), up $5/st from last week.

Steel mill production times for sheet and plate products remain at or near multi-year highs, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.

Spot market participants worry that limited availability for certain grades of domestically produced plate will extend lead times even further.  

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

AMU's March survey results show lead times remaining extended as supply tightness persists, even as import competitiveness declines and logistics costs increase.

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

As spot prices for hot- and cold-rolled coils edge higher, mill capacity utilization rates hover below 80%, raising concern among some market participants.  

Steel mill lead times extended to multi-year highs on both sheet and plate products this week.

The US steel market is already characterized by high prices and tight supplies, and I wouldn't be surprised if prices move higher and supplies get even tighter – at least in the short term.

Domestic plate market participants expressed confidence in the overall improvement of market conditions this week.  

Prices are moving up and lead times moving. And most people expect them to continue to do so for a little while longer, according to our latest survey results. But there is one big wildcard: the Iran war.

Participants in the US hot- and cold-rolled sheet market cautiously called the week a win as prices inched north and demand picked up.  

Plate sources say they’re welcoming imports as domestic mill delivery delays, extended lead times, and climbing prices make fully adopting US-produced plate products unrealistic.  

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

Following extensions in February, steel mill lead times held steady or extended further for both sheet and plate products this week, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.

Let’s say the going price for HR is around $1,000/st. Want to place a 1,000-ton spot order at that price? Good luck. It probably won’t be easy.

February survey results showed notable shifts across measured lead times and sentiment.

Plate industry sources said the market has been characterized by three factors lately: fewer domestic mills willing to fulfill spot buys, inconsistent lead times, and erratic demand.

US hot-rolled coil prices are set to rise year on year in 2026, but the market will face heightened volatility as import flows recover and new domestic capacity comes online, CRU Research Principal Josh Spoores said at this year's Tampa Steel Conference. 

Participants in the domestic sheet market say they experienced lighter inquiries and fewer orders than in previous weeks, rendering domestic mill price increases for spot-market hot- and cold-rolled coils irrelevant.  

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

The galvanized steel market is navigating price increases and longer lead times with a surer footing than in prior months.