Current Take

RAW MATERIAL PRICES: Raw material surcharges were mixed for the month of July. Moly rose, Nickel decreased, Chrome stayed the same, Iron decrease, and energy increased. Due to this, the 316L surcharged saw a slight increase. Nickel surcharge has still been in a decline for the last few weeks. The global nickel market is overstocked which is driving the price lower. Our previous thoughts of nickel rising through the year is starting to look incorrect as many news articles are saying Nickel will continue to drop.

LEAD TIMES: All premium grades are into Q4 2025 - Q2 2026 and some nickel grades into Q4 2026!!. With the strong demand for premium grades we expect this to remain the story. As for commodity grades, lead times are short compared to one year ago.

BASE PRICES: No new base price increases during the month of June. Reminder: Mills increased pricing anywhere from 2% - 10% depending on the grade and size. Premium grades are still hard to find even though commodity grades are available. Due to this high demand, mills will continue to increase their pricing and draw out lead times.

SECTION 232: The month of July brings Q3! Q2 quota came down to the last week from Europe! Reminder: this is a totally different story than what happened in 2022. The election is right around the corner... what will happen?