Service Centers
July 13, 2014
Stability in Service Center Spot Prices
Written by John Packard
Last week, Steel Market Update conducted our early July flat rolled steel market analysis. One of the items we watch as a key market indicator is how the manufacturing companies and service centers report whether distributors are raising, lowering or maintaining flat rolled steel spot prices.
Just as the various indexes saw little movement in spot pricing out of the flat rolled steel mills. The manufacturing companies responding to our steel industry survey found a reduction in those service centers asking for price increases (17 percent vs. 23 percent in mid-June) and a lower percentage of our respondents were offering reduced spot prices (11 percent vs. 15 percent in mid-June). Of the manufacturing group, 72 percent of those respondents reported service center spot prices as stable, up 10 percent from mid-June.
