Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
February 22, 2016
We have been hard at work on our 2016 Steel Summit Conference. There is no doubt in my mind that this will be the best conference program we have ever assembled and one of the finest networking opportunities for those involved in the steel industry. I want everyone to know that I am open to suggestions on what you would like to see (example: stronger speaker on world steel market – we are working on that). Please let me know what you liked, who you liked from past years. If there is someone out there you have heard speak in the past and you think they would be a good fit for our conference please let me know: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com
We picked up another keynote speaker today as we received a commitment from Chris Oakley, Vice President of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank. The Federal Reserve Bank has promised us that our attendees will not be disappointed with Mr. Oakley. He joins other presenters which include Mark Millett, President & CEO of Steel Dynamics; Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President & CEO of Cliffs Natural Resources; Dr. Alan Beaulieu, Institute for Trend Research, Timna Tanners, Metals & Mining Analyst, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Lawrence Kavanagh, President, SMDI and many more. We hope to have another announcement of a major steel figure joining our group later this week.
Save the dates: August 29, 30, 31st as we host our 6th Steel Summit Conference. Location: Georgia International Convention Center, Atlanta, Georgia. Host hotel: Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway Hotel.
We are also planning on hosting a one day Managing Price Risk workshop following the conference (September 1st). More details on that to follow.
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
SMU had the pleasure of attending the American Iron and Steel Institute's (AISI's) annual general meeting in Washington this week. It was a slow week in our nation's capital, so we were able to take a leisurely stroll around the National Mall and take in the sights. Just kidding. In fact, the meeting coincided with significant trade actions announced by the Biden administration. It included, among other things, additional tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum.
Final thoughts
Our spot price is little changed this week after moving sharply lower last week on the heels of Nucor’s unexpected price cut. Here’s one thought on that trend: Nucor's weekly HR price (aka, its “Consumer Spot Price” or CSP) has to date functioned almost more like a monthly price.
Final thoughts
What's the tea in the steel industry this week? Here's the latest SMU gossip column! Just kidding... kind of. Yes, some of the comments we receive in our weekly flat-rolled market steel buyers' survey are honestly too much to put into print. Some make us laugh. Some make us cringe. Some are cryptic. Most are serious. We appreciate them all. Below are some highlights from our survey results this week. Some of the comments that we can share with you are also included, in italics, in the buyers' own words, with minimal editing on our part.
Final thoughts
Last week we wrote about a brief lull in price movement, labeling it a period of wait and see. It did, in fact, turn out to be pretty brief. This week... things are little bit different. Perhaps right now we are more in a period of "hope and pray" or "Here we go, hold on to your hats."
Final thoughts
Unless you've been under a rock, you know by know that Nucor's published HR price for this week is $760 per short ton, down $65/st from the company’s $825/st a week ago. I could use more colorful words. But I think it’s safe to say that most of the market was not expecting this. For starters, US sheet mills never announce price decreases. (OK, not never. It has come to my attention that Severstal North America rescinded a price increase back on Feb. 14, 2012. And it caused quite the ruckus.)