Analysis

Final Thoughts

January 27, 2014

It snowed in Georgia and South Carolina today. Nucor Berkeley put out an announcement that their shipping and sales personnel had been sent home early. I thought it might be a good time to double check the forecast for Mobile for next Tuesday and Wednesday which is where we are holding our next Steel 101 workshop. The forecast is for 70 degrees on Tuesday and 60 degrees on Wednesday.

Going back to the snow in Georgia. My office is about 50 miles Northeast of downtown Atlanta. The forecast for here was flurries with the bulk of the snow forecast to hit south of Atlanta. It is now Tuesday evening and as I look out my window I am gazing at 3″ of snow on the ground.

Every time it snows in Georgia I go back to my first winter here. I had moved down from Minnesota where I had gone to college and lived for 10 years. That first winter here the forecast was for a few inches of snow and people were panicking in their apartments around me. For some reason people in the south can never have two many gallons of milk in their refrigerator when it snows…

The next day I woke up to 4 or 5 inches of snow on the ground and I immediately got in my car and drove to work, which was about six miles away from my apartment. No one was on the road but me and one under-trained police vehicle. I know they were under trained as I watch the police car slow down as it approached a small hill. He was still doing donuts at the bottom of that hill when my little Toyota scampered by.

Of course, being a new guy I didn’t have keys to the office and I was the only one who showed up in that parking lot that day.

Not much has changed in the years since – except now I stay home and watch the crazies on TV who try to imitate that policeman of many years ago.

Snow or no snow our office is open in the morning.

As always we thank you for your business which is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.

John Packard, Publisher