Economy

Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
December 10, 2014
I was advis ed today that Nucor had reduced their pricing on beams by $40 per ton in order to compete with foreign beam offers. The question then became what are the mills doing to blunt the impact of foreign steel offers of flat rolled products into the United States? As we reported on Tuesday, US Steel is attempting to stem the price erosion which has occurred since the beginning of November. Meanwhile, buyers seem to be back to sitting on their hands waiting to see what happens next. Lead times are relatively short and inventories appear to be higher than they have been in awhile.
A note to those planning on attending our Steel 101 workshop in South Carolina in January. The room rate guarantee of $91 per room (includes resort fee) will expire on December 20th. We still have plenty of room to take more reservations. If you have any questions please contact our office: 800-432-3475 or by email: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
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 Economy

ArcelorMittal plans wire-drawing closure in Hamilton, shifts production to Montreal
ArcelorMittal’s (AM) Hamilton location to be shuttered, wire production shifting to Montreal.
Beige Book finds growing economic, policy uncertainty
All districts reported "hesitancy and a cautious approach to business and household decisions,” according to the Beige Book.

ISM: Manufacturing continues to contract in May
May marks the third consecutive month US manufacturing activity declined, according to supply executives contributing to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM)’s latest report.

Chicago PMI decreases 4.1 points in May
The Chicago Business Barometer reports that decreases in new orders, order backlogs, and softer production pulled the index down by 4.1-points to 40.5, in May.

Architecture firms struggle through April
For the third month in a row, architecture firms reported a reduction in billings through April, according to the latest Architecture Billings Index release.