Steel Products Prices North America
May 6, 2018
SMU Survey: Steel Prices Damaging to Your Business?
Written by John Packard
Last week Steel Market Update conducted our early May 2018 flat rolled and plate steel market trends survey. We sent invitations to 640 individuals representing approximately 620 companies mostly located in the United States and Canada. The purpose of our inquiries is to better follow various trends affecting the flat rolled and plate markets. We look for trends in pricing, sentiment, demand, supply, negotiations, spot prices out of service centers, foreign steel and many others. We also ask about issues of the day – those that may only exist for a short while before being replaced by another pressing issue. Last week we inquire as to what damage was being done to your business, if any, by the higher domestic steel mill spot prices.
What we found was a split market – 48 percent reported their company as being damaged while 52 percent said no damage was being done.
