FAQs

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When are the Monthly Steel Reviews published?

These dates are subject to change.

January

Express

17 Jan 23 | European Steel Review - Express
17 Jan 23 | European Steel Review Supplement - Express
20 Jan 23 | International Steel Review - Express

Monthly Steel Reviews

February

Express

09 Feb 23 | European Steel Review - Express
09 Feb 23 | European Steel Review Supplement - Express
15 Feb 23 | International Steel Review - Express

Monthly Steel Reviews

March

Express

14 Mar 23 | European Steel Review - Express
14 Mar 23 | European Steel Review Supplement - Express
20 Mar 23 | International Steel Review - Express

Monthly Steel Reviews

April

Express

13 Apr 23 | European Steel Review - Express
13 Apr 23 | European Steel Review Supplement - Express
19 Apr 23 | International Steel Review - Express

Monthly Steel Reviews

May

Express

15 May 23 | European Steel Review - Express
15 May 23 | European Steel Review Supplement - Express
18 May 23 | International Steel Review - Express

Monthly Steel Reviews

June

Express

13 Jun 23 | European Steel Review - Express
13 Jun 23 | European Steel Review Supplement - Express
19 Jun 23 | International Steel Review - Express

Monthly Steel Reviews

July

Express

12 Jul 23 | European Steel Review - Express
12 Jul 23 | European Steel Review Supplement - Express
18 Jul 23 | International Steel Review - Express

Monthly Steel Reviews

August

Express

14 Aug 23 | European Steel Review - Express
14 Aug 23 | European Steel Review Supplement - Express
18 Aug 23 | International Steel Review - Express

Monthly Steel Reviews

September

Express

13 Sep 23 | European Steel Review - Express
13 Sep 23 | European Steel Review Supplement - Express
19 Sep 23 | International Steel Review - Express

Monthly Steel Reviews

October

Express

12 Oct 23 | European Steel Review - Express
12 Oct 23 | European Steel Review Supplement - Express
18 Oct 23 | International Steel Review - Express

Monthly Steel Reviews

November

Express

13 Nov 23 | European Steel Review - Express
13 Nov 23 | European Steel Review Supplement - Express
17 Nov 23 | International Steel Review - Express

Monthly Steel Reviews

December

Express

08 Dec 23 | European Steel Review - Express
08 Dec 23 | European Steel Review Supplement - Express
12 Dec 23 | International Steel Review - Express

Monthly Steel Reviews

How do I subscribe/purchase?

If you are interested in purchasing the data-tables for prices, indices or forecasts, you will need to set up an account on the MEPS Portal. Please fill in the registration form here. Once registered, you can browse our product catalogue and purchase data-sets to suit your requirements.

If you need more comprehensive insight into the steel market and would therefore like to purchase one of our Monthly Steel Reviews or Steel Outlooks then you can fill in an order form here. A member of our team will be in touch to confirm your order.

What licence do I need?

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5, 10, or 15 user licences depending on the size of your team
Value for money - only pay for the people that need the data, not the entire company
Data can be shared with all named users
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Prices vary depending on data requirements

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Access for all employees of your company and subsidiaries that require MEPS data
Upload data to your internal server for access to all employees that require MEPS data
Speak to our sales team to arrange this (Contact us)
Prices vary depending on data requirements
Any additional requirements can be arranged through our sales team (Contact us)

How much does a subscription cost?

The cost of a subscription depends on the products you wish to purchase. We have a large catalogue of steel price information available.

MEPS Portal

Steel Prices & Indices

Steel Price Forecasts

MEPS Publications

Monthly Steel Reviews

Steel Outlooks

Please contact a member of our sales team for help making the correct purchase for your needs.

How can I pay for my subscription?

For instant access to the data purchased through the MEPS Portal, payment should be made via the website using a credit card. Alternatively, an invoice can be raised for payment to be made by direct bank transfer.

Please note there is a £40 non-card payment fee if you decide to pay by bank transfer.

Can you send me a link so I can pay for my Monthly Steel Reviews by credit card?

To request a secure link to make payment by credit card please contact us. Remember to quote your invoice number with your request.

How do I renew my subscription?

To renew your MEPS Portal subscription please log in to your account.

Once logged in, browse your way to your list of subscriptions by clicking the orange button labelled ‘my subscriptions’. Here you can click renew all at the top of the list. This will add all products due for renewal into your basket. Click on the basket icon at the top right of the screen and follow the onscreen prompts to make a payment or create an invoice to pay by bank transfer. Alternatively, you can contact us and one of our team members will raise the relevant invoice for your renewal.

Please note there is a £40 non-card payment fee if you decide to pay by bank transfer.

If you wish to renew a subscription to one of our publications a member of our team will be in touch two months before your expiry date.

I subscribe to a Monthly Steel Review. Why can’t I access it on MEPS Portal?

Our publication service is not currently available via the MEPS Portal. The monthly reports are sent as PDFs via email direct to your inbox – you do not need a username or password. In the future we hope to allow customers to access their reports via the portal.

How do you conduct your research?

Research is conducted primarily by telephone and VoIP calls. Our strategy is based on the concept that dialogue with respondents is an important factor in obtaining accurate information. Through confidential discussions, our research staff are able to ascertain the price at which market participants have negotiated their recent business.

Dialogue also enables research staff to corroborate the information received and clarify any anomalies. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to challenge any prices submitted, which show a significant variation from the figures provided by other respondents.

Other forms of communication are used, where appropriate. These include email and digital messaging. However, the main feature of the research programme is that dialogue is undertaken with steel buyers. This exchange of information, while retaining the confidentiality of contributors, is an essential part of our research policy.

Discussions with respondents are wide-ranging and include prices for concluded transactions, import offers, short-term price projections, availability of material, delivery lead times, inventory levels, order intake and purchasing activity. Demand across steel-consuming sectors, the price and availability of steelmaking raw materials, and other important topics are also discussed.

Who are your research partners?

Since our inception, we have built a longstanding and wide-ranging contact base. Our research partners operate, primarily, at steel distributors, service centres and stockholders. We also speak with a range of senior executives at other companies involved in steel purchasing, including steel traders, processors, fabricators, original equipment manufacturers and end-users.

To obtain a rounded view of the market, we also regularly speak with steel producers. Data received from these conversations is, explicitly, not incorporated in our published price assessments. It is, however, used to corroborate the figures collected from steel buyers.

Due to our extensive research base, we are able to validate all price and market information. Furthermore, regular contact with respondents ensures that all price data received is consistent, from month to month.

What do your prices refer to?

Our published price assessments relate to regular business, between buyers and steel mills, for newly produced, prime, commercial quality material. Prices are negotiated during the current month, for forward delivery.

Transactions that involve abnormally large or small volumes, non-repeatable deals or sale of ex-stock material are omitted from consideration in the formulation of the published prices. Long-term contract prices are also excluded from our monthly assessments.

Our prices exclude all extra charges for processing, packaging, testing, and certification unless these services are provided to the buyer at no additional cost.

The majority of our price assessments refer to material sold ex-works, excluding local taxes. When delivery charges or local taxes are incorporated in a published figure, this is stated in the relevant specification.

What is the difference between basis and transaction prices?

A basis price is traditionally a figure that a steel buyer and seller will negotiate. Extras are subsequently applied to calculate a transaction or effective price. These extras would be for grade, dimension, coating, special tolerances, surface treatment, cutting to length etc.

Our carbon steel transaction prices typically include extras for the dimensions of the product (thickness/width or diameter) and coating, if applicable.

What is an index?

An index measures the relative change in a price. Our indices are calculated by comparing the current price with the base value in a specified starting month. This base value has an index number of 100.

Do your European carbon steel prices include energy or carbon surcharges?

No, our published prices for European carbon steel exclude energy and carbon surcharges.

Our carbon steel prices refer to commercial grade material. Energy surcharges are not widely applied in this market segment. This is in contrast to the alloy steel market, where producers are applying energy surcharges, along with their traditional surcharges for scrap and alloys.

The application of carbon surcharges by steel producers, to recover their costs of carbon emissions, is not currently a widespread practice in the European steel industry.

What pricing mechanism is used in the European stainless steel market?

The traditional pricing mechanism in Europe involves the addition of a mill-published alloy surcharge to a negotiated base price to establish an effective price.

Due to current market conditions, an alternative pricing mechanism to the base plus alloy surcharge system is being used. Most transactions for regular business between stainless steel producers and buyers at distributors and stockists are being conducted using effective pricing, whereby an all-inclusive value is agreed.

Subtracting the current month’s published alloy surcharge from a negotiated effective price may result in very low or, in some cases, negative nominal (or theoretical) base values.

For more information, please see our Explainer