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Distributors reported the first month-on-month price decline in over a year, easing pressure on small workshops that had been rationing stock since spring.
The trade group cautioned that the improvement remains fragile, noting that a single plant outage would be enough to reverse it, and urged buyers to keep secondary suppliers under contract through the end of the season.
Freight costs, which had absorbed much of the earlier increase, continue to normalise on the northern corridor. Several operators said they expect to restore standard lead times before the quarter closes.