Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
July 1, 2015
I want to wish everyone in the United States a happy and safe 4th of July holiday weekend.
This evening’s edition of Steel Market Update is what I consider “lite” due to the limited number of articles as I am trying to give the SMU team some time off to enjoy the long weekend.
Steel Market Update’s offices will not be manned tomorrow (Friday, July 3rd) but Diana and I will be monitoring our voice mail and emails and returning calls as needed. If you have a question or an issue do not hesitate to contact our office (800-432-3475) and we will do our best to handle your issue.
Our website operates 24 hours a day no matter what holiday is upon us. Our early bird registration for our 5th Steel Summit Conference will end on July 15th. You can register online or through our office. You are also welcome to send us an email requesting an invoice and we will honor the early bird pricing. Send your emails to: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Thank you again for your business as it is truly appreciated by all of us at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher

John Packard
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Final Thoughts
Now that the USS/Nippon deal has been completed, what's next?

Final Thoughts
Getting back to the price increases I mentioned at the top of this article, to what extent are they aimed at raising prices and to what extent are they aimed at stopping the bleeding that was happening in the second half of May, before President Trump announced the 50% tariff?

Final Thoughts
We just wrapped another Steel 101 Workshop, where you take what you learned in the classroom into the steel mill.

Final Thoughts
Steel equities and steel futures fell hard after news broke earlier this week that the US and Mexico might reach an agreement that would result in the 50% Section 232 tariff coming off Mexican steel. The sharp declines didn’t make much sense, especially if, as some reports indicate, Mexico might agree to a fixed quota. They didn't make sense even if steel flows between the US and Mexico remain unchanged.

Final Thoughts
Even before the news about Mexico, I didn’t want to overstate the magnitude of the change in momentum. As far as we could tell, there hadn’t been a frenzy of new ordering following President Trump’s announcement of 50% Section 232 tariffs. But higher tariffs had unquestionably raised prices for imports, which typically provide the floor for domestic pricing. We’d heard, for example, that prices below $800 per short ton for hot-rolled (HR) coil were gone from the domestic market – even for larger buyers.