SMU Data and Models

SMU market survey results now available

Written by David Schollaert

July 19, 2024

The latest SMU 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.”

Historical survey results are also available under that selection.

If you need help accessing the survey results, or if your company would like to have your voice heard in our future surveys, contact info@steelmarketupdate.com.

Key points and takeaways

We go over the big highlights of the survey in Final thoughts. Here are some other key points that we think are worth your time. (And, again, our premium subscribers can follow along with the latest results here.)

Steel Buyers’ Current Sentiment recovered a bit after plunging to a four-year low (slide 9), and Future Sentiment (slide 11) was five points higher than the prior market check.

Lead times remain short/normal (slide 13). And depending on the product, 75-91% of buyers surveyed said mills were willing to negotiate lower prices (slide 16).

The scrap market surprised many with prices moving sideways in July. Still, about a third (slide 19) expect lower prices in August. Most though (56%) are expecting prices to move up next month.

Nearly 40% of respondents said they expect to miss their business forecasts this month (slide 20). It’s also notable that just 2% expect to exceed forecasts for July.

More than three-quarters of service centers said they are releasing less steel (slide 28). And 84% said they are lowering prices. None reported increasing releases (slide 38).

There’s a lot more to unpack in the survey. Be sure to check out this week’s Final thoughts for some of the comments and key reactions directly from our sources.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. Based in CRU’s Pittsburgh office, David can be reached at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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