SMU Data and Models
June 2, 2016
Steel Mill Lead Times Continue to be Extended
Written by John Packard
Flat rolled steel mill lead times continue to be extended according to those responding to this week’s steel market trends analysis (lead times are the amount of time it takes for an order placed today until the steel is produced and shipped out of the domestic steel mill). Lead times now average two weeks or more than what we saw at the beginning of June one year ago.
The lead times referenced below are not out of any specific mill but rather are a conglomeration of all of the data points collected from manufacturing companies and service centers/wholesalers during our early June flat rolled steel market trends analysis (survey). The result is an average industry lead time which could be shorter or longer than that of a specific mill. Our interest here is the trend and not the data from a specific mill (most mills are on controlled order entry right now).
