Lock in Your Margins. Reduce Your Risk.
Navigate market volatility with expert support.
Partner with Worthington Steel's Price Risk Management team to stabilize earnings and align buying with selling, at no extra cost. Unpredictability is inevitable, but it doesn't have to define your business. With over 15 years of experience, our team helps customers:
- Protect margins against market volatility
- Manage costs to align with corporate goals
- Build flexible buying strategies that adapt as your business evolves
And we know these strategies work; we use them ourselves. Watch our quick 3-minute animation to learn more.
Let's Get Started
Managing risk begins with a conversation. Our team of steel pricing experts takes the time to understand your business goals in price, quantity, and delivery. From there, we design buying strategies that align with your objectives. Every program is customizable, whether it's a long-term or short-term contract, to give you confidence in your purchasing decision.
Understanding Your Steel Needs
Three Essential Components
of a Buying Strategy
In today's fast-paced steel market, building the right strategy begins with three key components: price, quantity, and delivery. By understanding what you can commit to in each area, we help you create a plan that manages costs, protects margins, provides purchasing flexibility, and aligns with overall corporate goals.
PRICE
How do you want to manage?
Everyone wants the best price, but market volatility makes it challenging. We work with you to align how you buy steel with how you sell your products. Whether your priority is beating market swings or building long-term stability, we design strategies for you.
QUANTITY
What volume commitment?
Every buying strategy requires some level of volume commitment. Our role is to help you find the right balance. Ideally, it should be enough to safeguard your margins, yet flexible to adapt to changes in your business or market shifts.
DELIVERY
What delivery terms work best?
Different strategies offer different levels of delivery flexibility. Some contracts guarantee supply with fixed schedules, while others allow adjustments in frequency and quantity. Together, we will find the terms to build a stable supply chain.
With Worthington, you get more than steel. You gain a partner committed to your confidence and success.
Tailored Strategies Built for You
Types of Strategies
Every business has different goals, customers, and risk tolerance. That's why there isn't one 'right' way to buy steel. At Worthington, we work with you to find the strategy, or combination of strategies, that best supports your objectives.
Index-Based Pricing Strategy
Stay aligned with the market.
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What is It
A pricing approach that follows the steel market index, moving up or down with published benchmarks.
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How Does It Work
- Pricing adjusts based on the published index (monthly, quarterly)
- Customers pay the market rate at the time of delivery
- Useful for transparency or when the sales price is tied to the same index
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What Are The Benefits
- Direct pricing aligns with the market to reduce risk
- Transparent pricing allows customers to know the raw material cost
- Works well for companies that sell on index-based
Fixed Strategy
Lock in price, lock in stability.
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What is It
A pricing approach where prices are locked in for the duration of the contract, providing stability.
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How Does It Work
- Price is set upfront and does not adjust to market volatility
- Can be secured through physical or financial hedging
- Contract duration depends on customer's need
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What Are The Benefits
- Protects your margins from market volatility
- Simplifies budgeting and forecasting with fixed price up to 2 years
- Creates stability for long-term planning & customer commitments
Hybrid Strategy
Flexibility without the gamble.
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What is It
A customizable approach that blends index-based and fixed pricing strategies that are made custom.
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How Does It Work
- Part of your volume follows the index, while the other is locked at a fixed rate
- Contracts can be structured through hedging and adjusted to your goals
- The ratio of index vs. fixed is tailored to your needs
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What Are The Benefits
- Allows for budgeting while capturing savings if prices fall
- Lock in baseline supply, flex the rest with index
- Protects profitability in volatile, thin-margin markets
With 70 years of experience, we have the resources to help you.
