SMU Data and Models
December 3, 2015
Mill Negotiations for Spot Flat Rolled Stuck in a Rut
Written by John Packard
Much like lead times, domestic mill spot price negotiations have been mired in the muck and not able to get any momentum going back to the spring of this year. Those responding to this week’s flat rolled steel market analysis are almost unanimous in their description of the willingness of the domestic mills to discuss pricing. It stands to reason with short lead times and the mills making as many moves as possible to eliminate unneeded capacity so far to no avail that price becomes the factor that determines where the order will be placed.
Here is how those responding to our early December survey saw the mills’ willingness to negotiate spot pricing by product:
