SMU Data and Models
November 6, 2014
By 3-1 Margin Steel Buyers Non-Believers in Price Increase
Written by John Packard
Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted our early November flat rolled steel market survey this week. We invited approximately 600 companies to participate in the process. Of those participating 44 percent were manufacturing companies and 44 percent were steel service centers. The balance of the respondents was comprised of 6 percent trading companies, 5 percent steel mills and 1 percent toll processors.
We asked our respondents if, in their opinion, the $20 per ton price increase announced by AK Steel, Nucor, USS and ArcelorMittal would be collected on new spot flat rolled orders. Seventy five percent of the respondents said “no” with the remainder believing the increase would be collected.
