Flat Roll Lead Times Inch Down

Flat rolled steel lead times have shortened up slightly since mid-September, according to the service centers and manufacturers who responded to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week. Lead time, which is the amount of time it takes for the domestic steel mills to produce a new order from the time the order was placed, is a rough indicator of the demand trend. The longer the lead time, the busier the mill and the stronger the demand. On average, flat rolled lead times are now less than four weeks for hot rolled, right at six weeks for cold rolled, a bit longer than six weeks for galvanized and a bit under six weeks for Galvalume.

As of Oct. 1, hot rolled lead times were reported to be averaging 3.60 weeks, down from 3.83 weeks in mid-September and 4.20 weeks in mid-August. A year ago, they were averaging 3.06 weeks.