Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
March 25, 2013
I remember back to August 2008 when I first started selling memberships to the Steel Market Update newsletter – one of my good steel customers from my Winner Steel and trading company days wondered out loud when he told me he didn’t know what I would be writing about in 30 days (in other words he thought I would run out of things to write about). It has been almost a full five years since SMU has been existence and we still have plenty to write about.
More importantly, to both me and our readers, we have expanded the company so we have more people to research, write, educate and market our products. Back in 2008 , I did 100 percent of the company writing. As you look at this issue you will notice that is no longer the case.
Plus, our company continues to grow.
I am pleased to announce we will have another new face joining our ranks as of Monday, March 25th. John Temples, former Learning Leader of Pacesetter Steel Service, Inc. will be joining our growing organization. John has a Master’s Degree in Education and an extensive resume on training and the learning process – particularly as it relates to the steel industry.
With the addition of John Temples and Peter Wright just before him, Steel Market Update continues its focus on knowledge/ learning/ understanding as being key focal points for our company.
For those who have not been keeping track, I now have the following people working with me to improve and grow our company and expand our services to our readers and those who are interacting with our website, workshops and Steel Summit conference: Brett Linton, Sophia Fain, Diana Packard, Jack Marshall, Sandy Williams, Peter Wright and John Temples. We also have three instructors who should be mentioned as part of our team: John Eckstein & Steve Painter who are with our Steel 101 workshop and Andre Marshall who is our instructor for Managing Price Risk. We also have a number of contributing writers which include (but are not limited to): Paul Lowrey of Steel Research Associates, Damon Sun of Daido International and a trading company source in Asia who prefers to remain anonymous. From one we have spawned many.
Please join me in welcoming Mr. Temples to our organization. His email address is: JohnTemples@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
Your business and your support have helped Steel Market Update grow and we all truly appreciate your kind words, suggestions, assistance in bringing us new business and most importantly we truly appreciate your business.
John Packard
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Final thoughts
SMU had the pleasure of attending the American Iron and Steel Institute's (AISI's) annual general meeting in Washington this week. It was a slow week in our nation's capital, so we were able to take a leisurely stroll around the National Mall and take in the sights. Just kidding. In fact, the meeting coincided with significant trade actions announced by the Biden administration. It included, among other things, additional tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum.
Final thoughts
Our spot price is little changed this week after moving sharply lower last week on the heels of Nucor’s unexpected price cut. Here’s one thought on that trend: Nucor's weekly HR price (aka, its “Consumer Spot Price” or CSP) has to date functioned almost more like a monthly price.
Final thoughts
What's the tea in the steel industry this week? Here's the latest SMU gossip column! Just kidding... kind of. Yes, some of the comments we receive in our weekly flat-rolled market steel buyers' survey are honestly too much to put into print. Some make us laugh. Some make us cringe. Some are cryptic. Most are serious. We appreciate them all. Below are some highlights from our survey results this week. Some of the comments that we can share with you are also included, in italics, in the buyers' own words, with minimal editing on our part.
Final thoughts
Last week we wrote about a brief lull in price movement, labeling it a period of wait and see. It did, in fact, turn out to be pretty brief. This week... things are little bit different. Perhaps right now we are more in a period of "hope and pray" or "Here we go, hold on to your hats."