Service Center Spot Prices Showing Cracks in the Foundation?

Last week, Steel Market Update conducted our early May flat rolled steel market trends survey. One of the key areas that we focus in on is the area of service center spot pricing to their end customers. We are interested in better understanding if steel distributors are raising, lowering or keeping spot prices the same as what was being offered just two weeks back.

What we have found is service centers are no longer actively raising spot prices and have instead switched to trying to keep prices steady. Only 28 percent of the distributors responding to our questions reported their company as raising prices. This is down from the 46 percent we found in mid-April and well below the 100 percent level recorded during the middle of March 2018.