Steel Products Prices North America
September 22, 2019
SMU Market Trends: Mills Lose Pricing Momentum
Written by Tim Triplett
Domestic steelmakers managed to reverse the year’s long downtrend in steel prices for a few weeks in July and August, but the turnaround was short-lived. As of mid-September, Steel Market Update’s Price Momentum Indicator is pointing firmly lower for hot rolled, cold rolled and coated steel prices, as well as for steel plate, as the market heads into a fourth quarter in which uncertain demand is keeping many buyers on the sidelines.
The upward momentum the mills saw from the three $40 per ton price increases they announced earlier this summer has apparently run its course. For mills to successfully collect a price increase, they need a commitment from distributors. And service centers are no longer supporting higher prices, according to findings from SMU’s Sept. 9 market trends questionnaire.
