Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
January 15, 2016
SMU will begin our mid-January flat rolled steel market analysis beginning at 8 AM on Monday. If you receive an invitation to participate, please take a few moments to click on the link (button) which will take you to SurveyMonkey.com where our questionnaire is housed. Premium level members, as well as those who participate in the process, will receive the results of our analysis in the form of a Power Point on Friday afternoon of this week.
I will be traveling for a portion of this week as we are conducting one of our Steel 101 workshops in Starkville, Mississippi and we will tour the SDI Columbus steel mill as part of our workshop. We will have more workshops later this year for those interested.
Also, we can conduct special training workshops customized for your company using segments of our Steel 101, Managing Price Risk, Sales Training or other programs. If you would like to learn more about custom programs you are welcome to contact me at: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by phone at 800-432-3475.
Registration is still available for our upcoming Leadership Summit Conference which includes the strongest program we have ever put together. You can find details on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com or you are welcome to contact me with any questions you might have: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 770-596-6268 (cell).
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
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Final Thoughts
We’ve talked about tariffs ad nauseam for much of the year. And I’m afraid this topic isn’t going away anytime soon. There’s a feeling that the tariff “can” will just be kicked down the road again and again, and again.
Final Thoughts
Can technology help with pig iron and DRI/HBI tariffs?
Final Thoughts
Tariff-related noise aside, there is one basic factor keeping buyers on the sidelines. Despite recent declines, HR prices remain at historically high levels. And there is no obvious support to keep them there.
Final Thoughts
United Airlines raised eyebrows earlier this month when it provided two forecasts for 2025 – one assuming a relatively stable economy and another assuming a recession. The reason? Uncertainty around the impact of President Trump’s policy shocks on the broader economy. And it sometimes feels like we’re seeing a battle between those two narratives (stable vs recession) play out within in the pages of this newsletter.
Final Thoughts
Despite some scary headlines lately (especially about Trump potentially firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell) this is not October 2008 (financial crisis) or March 2020 (onset of the pandemic). But it sure seems like we’ve taken a relatively strong economy and poured a thick sauce of uncertainty over it.