SMU Flat Rolled & Steel Plate Price Indices Indicate Slippage

Prior to the ArcelorMittal USA price increase announcement, Steel Market Update analysis of steel prices found flat rolled steel prices continuing their slow slog south (prices are moving lower). The pace has not accelerated, but there are questions as to whether some of the steel mills are cutting “quiet” deals in order to fill their fourth-quarter order book without giving the steel away.

One service center put it to us this way: “If you have index contracts, those prices aren’t that attractive, so my guess is some cheaper pricing must be out there to motivate anyone wanting to buy big volume right now. My guess is in the next two weeks there will be a lot of ‘quiet deals’ being done on volume to get December books full. For those who have learned that they can live comfortably with 2 months of inventory, even a so-called ‘deal’ right now isn’t that attractive, considering we could be entering a phase of lower input cost for an extended period.”