Steel Products
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
January 14, 2013
I want to extend our apologies for the “test” newsletter which was sent out to our members by our website developers on Saturday. We received a few emails surprised at some of the dated headlines. Seems like a few people don’t believe “stability” is in the cards for the current market.
I received a number of emails from the financial community asking for me to comment on a well-known analyst pegging the low end of the current market at $575 for large buyers. SMU has not collected data at the $575 level as of late last week. We have collected data below $600 per ton on hot rolled but not enough to call the market as being in free fall. We will have to wait and see what this week brings…
Our new price assessments come out on Tuesday evening.
As always we thank you for your business as it is truly appreciated.

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products

US rig count up, Canada declines
Oil and gas drilling activity was mixed this week, according to Baker Hughes. US rig counts expanded for a second straight week, while Canadian activity continued its seasonal slowdown of eight consecutive weeks.

US, offshore CRC prices continue to diverge
US cold-rolled (CR) coil prices declined again this week, slipping for a third straight week. Most offshore markets did the opposite, moving higher this week.

S232 lifts EU HR price over US, Asian HR still well behind
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices were flat this week after dropping for four straight weeks. Most offshore markets bucked the trend and gained ground.

SMU Steel Demand Index dips into contraction
SMU’s Steel Demand Index has moved into contraction, according to late April indicators. The slowdown comes in response to growing tariff uncertainty after the index reached a four-year high in late February.

Nucor selects Fives Group for new galv line at CSI
Nucor Corp. has tapped Fives Group as its partner in designing and manufacturing the new continuous galvanizing line being added at its California Steel Industries (CSI) joint venture in Fontana, Calif.