Negotiations: Mills Talking Price Despite Price Increase Announcements

Steel buyers and sellers reported mills slightly more open to steel price discussions, based on responses this week from Steel Market Update’s flat rolled market trends questionnaire, possibly reflecting the seasonal slowdown in sales activity. What makes the results collected on mills willingness to negotiate pricing especially interesting is the domestic steel mills began announcing price increases on flat rolled on Tuesday of this week after raising plate prices on Monday.

Over the course of this week, SMU has canvassed active participants in the flat rolled steel markets to capture any changes in market trends. The more than 100 responses to this week’s questionnaire offer a snapshot of how steel mills are handling price negotiations.