SMU Data and Models
June 5, 2014
Steel Mill Negotiations: Big Movement on All but Galvalume
Written by John Packard
As mentioned in the article on steel mill lead times included in this newsletter, we tend to see steel mills as more willing to negotiate steel prices as order books begin to get leaner and lead times begin to shrink. We are seeing some retrenchment of lead times and, at the same time, our recent market analysis is pointing toward much higher percentages of our respondents reporting the steel mills as willing to discuss flat rolled steel pricing.
Hot rolled appears to be the most fluid product with those reporting the mills as willing to negotiate hitting the 86 percent level. This is a level not seen since the end of the 1st Quarter 2014.
