SMU Survey: Mills remain flexible on sheet and plate prices - Steel Market Update

Nov 08, 2024

SMU Data and Models

Written by Brett Linton

November 7, 2024

Share on LinkedIn

Most steel buyers polled in our market poll this week continue to report mills are open to negotiation on new order pricing. In fact, negotiation rates have been strong for the majority of 2024, trending higher since September.

Every other week, SMU surveys hundreds of steel market executives asking if domestic mills are willing to talk price on new spot orders. In this week’s poll, 88% of all buyers reported that mills were willing to negotiate to secure a new order (Figure 1). This is one of the higher rates recorded so far this year. Recall that in late October, we saw the highest negotiation rate recorded in our near-four-year history, 93%.

As seen in Figure 2, negotiation rates remained strong this week across all sheet and plate products. Negotiation rates were highest for galvanized and plate products. The most significant changes observed from our previous survey were in cold rolled and Galvalume rates. Negotiation rates by product this week are:

“Mills are generally slow and have open space in the order book.”

“Larger hot rolled tonnages can get something off.”

“We aren’t buying from the mills currently, but we are getting calls from reps asking – which is pretty telling.”

“If you want more than a load or two of coils to place, most mills are willing to talk.”

“Negotiable on plate with tons, with product mix and timing.”

Brett Linton is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at [email protected] or 724-314-0179.

Sheet lead times are stable to slightly extended compared to late-October levels, but are down for all products relative to production times one month ago.

SMU’s latest steel buyers 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.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]

SMU’s Current Sentiment Index suggests steel buyers are still optimistic about their businesses’ ability to succeed in today’s market, though their confidence has significantly declined compared to recent months.

More than nine out of every 10 steel buyers polled by SMU this week reported that mills are flexible on prices for new orders. Negotiation rates have been strong since April and on the rise since early September.