The behavior during uniaxial cold compaction of a commercial mix of a water atomized austenitic stainless steel powder and a lubricant was investigated by carrying out single action tests and recording the force applied by the upper punch to the powder column, the force applied to the die, and the displacements of the crosshead and of the die. Data collected during the experiments were elaborated using different correlations between the axial stress and the radial stress in the powder column: the Poisson correlation for the elastic deformation of the powder column, and the Von Mises criterion for plastic deformation. Friction coefficient decreases on increasing relative density up to rho(r) = 0.7, then it stabilizes on 0.15. The flow stress of the powder mix increases with the relative density by a power law. The radial stress transmission coefficient increases with relative density, with two distinct trends in the ranges where either elastic or plastic deformation of the powder column predominate. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.