Service Center Spot Sales Pressure Mill Price Increases

In Steel Market Update’s (SMU) latest flat rolled steel market analysis, manufacturing companies and steel service centers are sending mixed messages regarding how flat rolled steel distributors are treating their spot end customers. Twenty-one percent of the manufacturing companies responding to last week’s flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire reported service centers were lowering prices, while another 21 percent told SMU that distributors were raising prices. These levels do not suggest a clear direction for momentum, which could be troubling to the domestic mills and their price increases since there normally is a jump in distributors raising spot prices when an increase has been announced.