SMU Data and Models
Don’t Just Read SMU’s Steel Data, Help Shape it - Join our Survey!
Written by Brett Linton
January 31, 2022
SMU continues to hear that domestic HR prices are moving lower, in particular for large orders. Are mills trying to keep lead times above three weeks, are we going back to a cost plus model on the EAF side, or is it something else entirely?
This isn’t 2008-09 or even 2014-15. The music hasn’t stopped on demand. But new capacity is slowly but surely coming online amid high inventories and import volumes. The big question is how far do prices fall and how long does that fall take.
How do things look from your company’s perspective? Make sure your voice is heard by participating our survey. Contact Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com for more information.
Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in SMU Data and Models
SMU Survey: Sheet lead times ease further, plate hits one-year high
Steel buyers responding to this week’s SMU market survey report a continued softening in sheet lead times. Meanwhile, plate lead times have moderately extended and are at a one-year high.
SMU Survey: Buyers report more price flexibility from mills
Nearly half of the steel buyers responding to this week’s SMU market survey say domestic mills are showing increased willingness to negotiate pricing on new spot orders. This marks a significant shift from the firmer stance mills held in prior weeks.
SMU Survey: Buyers’ Sentiment Indices fall
Current Sentiment Index dropped six points to +42 this week compared to two weeks earlier. It has fallen in every successive survey since reaching a 2025 high of +66 on Feb. 19.
March service center shipments and inventories report
Steel service center shipments and inventories report through March 2024.
Apparent steel supply contracts in February
The amount of finished steel that entered the US market in February receded from January’s peak, according to our analysis of Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data.