Steel Products
Steel Mills Still Willing to Negotiate Flat Rolled Steel Prices
April 9, 2015
According to our survey respondents not much has changed when it comes to how willing steel mills are to negotiate hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steel pricing.
Lead times continue to remain short and order books weak. This has created a situation whereby steel mills have to be competitively priced in order to book new spot orders. Especially when considering the $140 per ton drop in pricing (HRC) since the end of December 2014 to this week.
A coating mill provided some comments to Steel Market Update separate from our survey but they are germane to the subject of mill negotiations. We were told, ““Demand is a bit soft but more inquiries are in process now than in recent months. Everyone is digging for the best price. My take is that there is biz to be had for Q3, but that the range between lowest and highest base is narrowing. Not so much erosion on the low end of the base, but some on high end of the range as customers seem to be ready to actually place orders soon and they won’t unless they get a deal.”
As you can see by the graphic below all of the flat rolled products are “in play” and negotiable.
To view the interactive history of the graphic above, visit the Steel Mill Negotiations page on the Steel Market Update website here.
Latest in Steel Products
Rig count update: US activity stable, Canada slips
The number of oil and gas rigs operating in the US remained unchanged this week for the second consecutive week, while Canadian activity declined, according to the latest data released from Baker Hughes.
SMU market survey results now available
SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]
Domestic, offshore CRC prices steady
The price spread between US-produced cold-rolled (CR) coil and offshore products on a landed basis was unchanged in the week ended Dec. 20.
SMU Survey: Mill lead times contract slightly, remain short
Steel mill production times have seen very little change since September, according to buyers participating in our latest market survey.
Worthington Enterprises’ earnings dip in fiscal Q2’25
Worthington Enterprises' profits edged down in its fiscal second quarter of 205 vs. a year earlier. The company said a slump in sales in the quarter was due largely to the "deconsolidation" of the Sustainable Energy Solutions segment in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.