Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
February 9, 2015
I have been speaking with a number of service centers involved in the secondary side of the steel industry. Although early in my investigation, I am learning that no one really knows how the huge drop in scrap prices will ultimately affect the secondary markets. Usually there is a relationship between secondary steel prices and scrap. I learned that as prime prices fall secondary prices usually move as well but not necessarily in equal amounts. We will dig some more to see what we can learn about secondary price movements in comparison to prime and scrap price changes.
We are taking reservations for our next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop which will be held in the Chicago area and will include a tour of the NLMK mini mill in Portage, Indiana. You can find details about our program, instructors, cost and registration on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com in the Events section. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact our office: 800-432-3475 or, info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
In light of the large drop in flat rolled steel pricing, we are hearing from a number of our readers asking for more details regarding how to get “firm fixed” pricing over an extended period of time. Andre Marshall and I have discussed doing one of our Managing Price Risk II workshops with a special focus on the current market conditions. If you are interested in attending such a workshop please advise as we are looking at prospective dates and locations. The more interest we have the sooner we can justify putting on one of our programs. Please contact me at: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com if you are interested.
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's hot-rolled (HR) coil price slipped this week to $685 per short ton (st) on average. We also adjusted our sheet momentum indicators to lower for the first time since July.
Final Thoughts
When a mapmaker constructs a map, it’s always to the contours of the land. Or sea. That is, the mapmaker doesn’t say, “Look, these rocks really don’t belong here, so I’m not going to include them in the harbor map.” Uncharted rocks, sink ships (along with loose lips).
Final Thoughts
We had an October surprise here at SMU on Wednesday. I was working from the CRU office in Pittsburgh, and the internet connection briefly went out. As luck would have it, that happened smack in the middle of a live Community Chat webinar. Fortunately, my colleague David Schollaert stepped in, Zekelman Industries CEO Barry Zekelman rolled with the punches – and the show went on. Could there be any more October surprises in store for us and for the steel market?
Final Thoughts
We just wrapped up another Steel 101 workshop, easily the most hands-on industry workshop on steelmaking and market fundamentals, in this humble opinion. Last week on Tuesday and Wednesday, SMU’s Steel 101 was held in Starkville, Miss.
Final Thoughts
Everybody has an opinion about politics these days. More importantly for our readers, though, every business has a bottom line. A popular question in our most recent steel buyers survey asked how uncertainty around the upcoming US presidential election could affect that line.