Steel Mill Negotiations: Buyers Still Have Leverage

In the hot rolled segment, 92 percent of the steel buyers said the mills are willing to negotiate prices on HR. In the cold rolled segment, 96 percent reported the mills willing to talk price. In galvanized, 93 percent reported the mills open to negotiation. Similarly, 91 percent said they have found mills willing to compromise on Galvalume prices. In the plate sector, 88 percent said the plate mills are now open to negotiations.

The benchmark price for hot rolled steel dipped to $460 per ton this week, down $80 from the $540 at the beginning of April. Mills are hopeful that with automotive and other manufacturing plants reopening in May, steel demand will improve enough to give them some bargaining power once again.

Note: SMU surveys active steel buyers twice each month to gauge the willingness of their steel suppliers to negotiate pricing. The results reflect current steel demand and changing spot pricing trends. SMU provides our members with a number of ways to interact with current and historical data. To see an interactive history of our Steel Mill Negotiations data (second example below), visit our website here.