Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
September 22, 2014
Consolidation may not be over yet. We saw a report this evening out of Minnesota about how Essar Steel Minnesota has failed to secure financing to complete the $1.8 billion taconite pellet facility. The company’s India parent company was so over-leveraged it was put on the top ten watch list by Credit Suisse one year ago, according to a report in the Star Tribune out of Minnesota. Essar is also the parent company of Essar Steel Algoma which recently was able to procure funding for the Canadian steel mill.
We added a couple more people to our Steel 101: Introduction to Steelmaking & Market Fundamentals workshop in Ft. Wayne, IN in a couple of weeks (October 7 & 8). The workshop will include a tour of the SDI steel mill in Butler, IN. We encourage anyone who has been thinking about attending to register soon as we will close registration late this week. If you have any questions, please contact our offices at 800-432-3475 or info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
The next workshop after Indiana will be in South Carolina in late January and will include a tour of Nucor Berkeley. More details on this workshop will be coming out in the coming days.
I want to take a moment to welcome our newest member companies and let them know that we encourage interaction with our people. If you have a question, comment or suggestion we are here and available. This includes me personally and I can be reached at: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by phone at 800-432-3475.
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts
SMU uses ferrous scrap survey data to take AI out on a test drive.

Final Thoughts
Will a US-UK meeting next week prove a harbinger of tariff deals to come, or will it be just another case of having the rug pulled from under us?

Final Thoughts
When will we see prime scrap become scarce as the worldwide transition to EAF melting increases, especially for HRC production? It's a question I've been asked a lot.

Final Thoughts: The hidden cost of analysis paralysis in the age of uncertainty
With US economic indicators all over the map, it’s no wonder the steel market has experienced a whole lot of analysis paralysis this year.

Final Thoughts
A recurring theme in conversations with some of you and in the comments submitted in our surveys is concerns about demand and uncertainty around tariffs. Where does SMU’s latest opinion polling on President Trump’s tariffs stand? Let’s take a look at the numbers.