Steel Mill Lead Times: Extended at 5-8 Weeks

Based on the latest SMU Flat Rolled and Plate Steel Market Trends Survey, mill lead times on flat rolled steel remain highly extended, close to the levels measured by Steel Market Update in mid-2016, as mills scramble to fill orders on strong demand. Mill lead times, which are the amount of time it takes for the domestic mills to produce a new order taken this week, is one of the key proprietary indicators tracked by Steel Market Update. Lead times reflect the activity at the mills and the order levels they are seeing from their customers. SMU’s latest data indicates that the average lead time for hot rolled remains at between five and six weeks, while cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume are at or near an average of eight weeks.

By product category, hot rolled lead times now average 5.73 weeks, up slightly from 5.65 weeks a month ago. Hot rolled lead times have stretched by more than two weeks since steel prices began rising in October.