Steel Market Update’s latest survey data reflects a consensus among steel buyers that sheet prices have bottomed out and might rebound.
Lead times continue to extend. Fewer sheet and plate mills are willing to negotiate lower spot prices. Seventy percent of survey respondents think prices bottomed out in October.
Also, 75% of respondents think that we’ll end the year with hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices above $700/ton (see Figure 1).
That’s somewhat remarkable considering that concerns lingered—especially ahead of the United Autoworkers (UAW) strike—that HRC could fall into the $500/ton range.
