Steel Mill Lead Times: Sharp Declines in April

Lead times for spot orders of flat rolled and plate steels declined sharply in April. Lead times ranged from a half-week to a full week shorter at the end of the month than they did at the beginning, depending on the product, according to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire.

Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level—the shorter the lead time, the less busy the mill. Lead times have continued to shorten despite the mills’ best efforts to idle furnaces and curtail production to sync supply with the demand that has survived the coronavirus shutdowns.