Want to Negotiate Steel Prices? Forget About It…

We are being a bit facetious when we tell steel buyers to “forget about it” when asked if the steel mills are willing to negotiate flat rolled steel prices. According to those taking our mid-November flat rolled steel market trends survey, the percent of buyers reporting the mills as willing to negotiate has dwindled from the 80 to 100 percent being reported one month ago to 27 percent or less.

Twenty seven percent of our respondents reported the domestic mills as willing to negotiate hot rolled pricing. Hot rolled has been the weakest product for some time due to weakness in the energy, agriculture and large equipment markets. That weakness has not disappeared but the willingness to negotiate has radically changed.