Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Written by John Packard


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

Latest in Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

As Wolfe Research’s Timna Tanner put it in her opening talk at Tampa on Monday afternoon, we’re living in a world of “Trumplications” now. That probably means – at least in the short term – higher scrap costs, lower imports from countries hit with or threated tariffs, and higher steel prices. SMU data reflects that. Scrap went up in January. More than 75% of the respondents to our more recent survey expect scrap to go up again February, maybe by a lot. Lead times, meanwhile, have been ticking upward this month. It started with hot-rolled coil and plate earlier this month. Now we’re seeing coated lead times extending too.