Steel Products Prices North America
March 21, 2017
SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Price Move Higher but Questions Increasing
Written by John Packard
Flat rolled prices moved higher over the past week based on SMU sources. Even so, there is much discussion as to what direction prices will go from here and we will have more on that subject later this week. We did receive comments from a large service center that our readers might find of interest as you think about the markets and what may happen next:
You [SMU] mentioned the key issue in one of your last articles – lead times. With scrap looking sideways, it’s all about lead times, and your article hit on the right points associated with them. Right now, I’m not seeing the push-out in lead times one would see in a market that is on a sustained up move. There appears to be enough disparity among the mills, which is allowing for buyers to still have some flexibility.
