Research

The never ending struggle to find the truth…

Steel Market Update wanted to find a place to put all of those little “things” you need to be aware of in the buying and selling of flat rolled steel. This is just the beginning of this section and we expect it to grow and grow in the months and years to come.

What’s Here?

  • Apparent Steel Supply in the United States – statistics and how we came to our conclusion.
  • Billing method conversion calculations – for galvanized steel sheet and coil – one stop answers to those many questions.
  • Cold rolled sheet thickness tolerances – want to know what the minimum and maximum thickness tolerance is allowed for 24 gauge cold rolled?
  • Hot rolled sheet thickness tolerances – just like the Cold Rolled above only hotter….
  • Galvanized coil and sheet calculations – calculation for determining average decimal (thickness) of a coil. Also how to calculate square footage.
  • Average Import Statistics by Product (Monthly) –steel imports broken down into HR, CR, GI, GL/AZ products by month since February 2009.
  • Average Import Statistics by Product (Yearly) –steel imports broken down into multiple products by year.
  • Manufacturers standard gauge history – actually pretty interesting document.
  • Raw steel utilization – since 1914…
  • Steel Buyers Basics – something we should not provide for free but we are for the moment. These are articles written by John Packard over a period of time to assist those in purchasing and sales become more productive. There are articles which can also assist management in determining if their company is being taken advantage of by others.
  • USGS – shows shipments, production and apparent consumption going back to 2000.
  • Fractions – conversion chart from fractions in inches to decimals – 7/32” is 0.2187” – we got more where that came from….
  • Glossary of Steel Terms – this is an ongoing project. Let us know if we are missing a word.
  • Steel thickness definitions – what is minimum ordered decimal and what does nominal thickness mean when ordering from a steel mill?
  • Scrap definitions – what the heck is busheling anyway?
  • Incoterms – ever wonder what CIF stands for?
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“I have known John Packard for more than 25 years. We have worked together as colleagues. He was a galvanized supplier to my company for 11 years - or longer. I watched John develop his newsletter in the early 1990's when we worked together at Pacesetter Steel Service, Inc. where he produced Galvanized Steel Update. Once John started Paragon Metal Services, Inc. it was only a matter of time before he felt the need to keep his clients informed about steel pricing, market momentum and why events were happening. His foresight saved us a lot of money and has allowed our company to grow and prosper over the years. As long as there is a steel business there needs to be a quality publication like Steel Market Update to keep the playing field level and the competition honest.” – Earl Goode Kenwood Painted Metals