SMU Data and Models
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Service Center Shipments and Inventories Report for July
Written by Estelle Tran
August 17, 2020
Flat Rolled = 55.5 Shipping Days of Supply
Plate = 54.7 Shipping Days of Supply
Flat Rolled
Service centers pared down flat-rolled steel supply in July to 55.5 shipping days of supply, according to preliminary data, down from 62.5 in June’s adjusted data. Inventories represented 2.52 months of supply in July, down from 2.84 in June. July had 22 shipping days, the same as June.
Shipments in July increased 9.2 percent month on month, and some service centers have reported normal business levels.
Total volumes of flat roll on order increased 6.1 percent at the end of July, and the percentage of inventory on order was the highest level reached since February. The percentage of inventory committed to contract was 52.9 percent in July, up from 50.7 in June.
Plate
Service centers cut back plate inventories 3.9 percent in July, while shipments picked up 3.2 percent. Overall, supply dropped to 54.7 shipping days of supply in July from 58.7 in June. Service centers carried 2.49 months of plate supply at the end of July, down from 2.67 in June.
Plate shipments remain subdued, though close to year-ago levels. Buying picked up significantly in July as mills eased off of their announced price increases. On-order volumes increased 13.7 percent month on month. As a percentage of inventory and total tonnage, plate on order was at the highest level seen since February. With inventories at just around 2.5 months of supply and some mill shipments running behind, service centers came back to the market to fill holes in their inventories, and also because mills had cut deals in the last month.
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Estelle Tran
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SMU’s August at a glance
SMU’s Monthly Review provides a summary of important steel market metrics for the previous month. Our August report includes data updated through August 30th.
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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.”
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SMU survey: Lead times edge higher for sheet
Current steel mill lead time averages are a few days longer than levels seen one month prior, but remain near historical lows for both sheet and plate products.
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SMU survey: Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices surge
Both our Current and Future Indices are now up to multi-month highs, indicating continued optimism among steel buyers.
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SMU survey: Mills’ flexibility on prices up slightly
Steel buyers found mills slightly more willing to negotiate spot prices this week, according to our most recent survey data. Though this negotiation rate has ticked up vs. our previous market check, overall rates have been trending downward since July’s highs.