Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
January 3, 2014
We are finally back to a full “normal” week and we should be able to gather much better market intelligence as we begin our next flat rolled market analysis with our survey invitations going out at 8 AM ET on Monday morning. Most buyers should be back in their offices on Monday so we anticipate we will be busy talking to the steel community to see where prices, demand, lead times and other import market trends are headed.
This week is also a good time to contact us regarding any interest you, or your company, may have in sending one or more of your people to our next Steel 101: Introduction to Steelmaking and Market Fundamentals workshop in Mobile, Alabama on February 4 & 5, 2014. The workshop will include a tour of the SSAB plate and hot rolled mini-mill located just outside of Mobile. Full details can be found on our website in the Events section or just click on the link provided here.
For those of you who have just returned from an extended Holiday – welcome back and Happy New Year.
As always we want to take a moment to thank our members as both your business and your kind words and recommendations to others regarding SMU are greatly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard
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United Airlines raised eyebrows earlier this month when it provided two forecasts for 2025 – one assuming a relatively stable economy and another assuming a recession. The reason? Uncertainty around the impact of President Trump’s policy shocks on the broader economy. And it sometimes feels like we’re seeing a battle between those two narratives (stable vs recession) play out within in the pages of this newsletter.
Final Thoughts
Despite some scary headlines lately (especially about Trump potentially firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell) this is not October 2008 (financial crisis) or March 2020 (onset of the pandemic). But it sure seems like we’ve taken a relatively strong economy and poured a thick sauce of uncertainty over it.
Final Thoughts
I put some of our survey data through ChatGpt, with interesting results.
Final Thoughts
Nearly 50% of respondents to our latest survey thought hot-rolled coil prices have already peaked. And where will those prices be two months from now? Responses were decidedly split on that question.