Final Thoughts
December 2, 2021
Final Thoughts
Written by Tim Triplett
(Editor’s note: This is a corrected version of Final Thoughts. The original misstated a hot rolled peak of $1,995 per ton, not $1,955.)
In our questionnaire this week, we asked steel buyers: Do you sense that the market is changing, and in what ways? Not surprisingly, many referenced shortening mill lead times and declining steel prices. At an average of $1,770 per ton, hot rolled has dropped by about $185 or 10% from its early-September peak of $1,955. In a normal market, a $185 decline would be considered a disaster. In the current environment, some describe it as a “slow softening” or even “a trickle.”
