Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
May 18, 2016
I saw a headline in another steel periodical stating that the USS/POSCO price increase was a reaction to the US DOC Final Determination on cold rolled. That doesn’t make sense to me. My understanding is UPI was behind in its pricing and needed to catch up. The new pricing is not outrageous when compared to the prices being asked by the mills east of the Rocky Mountains.
One of our sources advised us that we should expect California Steel (CSI) to come out with prices either on Friday but more likely on Monday since they have sales meetings every Monday.
It will be interesting to watch how quickly the two mills sell out of their August production. With limited foreign being offered I would expect them to both sell out within a few working days.
It has been a hectic travel week due to the Steel 101 workshop we conducted in Sylvania, Ohio. With the furnace accident at North Star BlueScope this was the first time we conducted a workshop without a mill tour since our very first workshop in Houston, Texas a number of years ago. The last minute change created a challenge for the instructors and our attendees as we had to adjust the agenda and we added a new piece to the program to accommodate the time lost that would have been spent on the tour.
I want to thank the attendees who participated in the program and I remind them that SMU is now an asset you can use when you have a question or want a second opinion (however, you have to buy, sell and service your customers without our help – but, I think you are up to the challenge).
Our next Steel 101 workshop already has a large number of people registered as the workshop will be held in Memphis, Tennessee and will include a tour of the Big River Steel facility across the border in Arkansas. We are looking forward to an entertaining program and an exception group of attendees. The workshop will be held in November 2016 and we will have more details in the coming days. If you have any questions feel free to shoot us a note: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or give us a call: 800-432-3475.
Also booking very well is our Steel Summit Conference which will be held in Atlanta on August 29-31st. I traded emails with one of the major car manufacturers who told us they intend on bringing a large group this year. Other companies are doing the same thing – it seems we have a lot more companies who are bringing anywhere from two to six people. You can find information about the program, speakers, costs, location and registration on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com or feel free to contact our office at 800-432-3475.
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
Final thoughts
SMU has heard from some larger buyers who have stepped back into the market to buy at prices that, if not at a bottom, they assess to be close to one. Is it enough to stretch out lead times and send prices upward again? Or do we continue to scrape along the mid-$600s per short ton (st) as we have been doing for most of the last month?
Final thoughts
Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves had some insightful things to say today about the steel market and about a conference we suspect might be Steel Summit.
Final thoughts
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, when you add in some commentary from respected peers in the steel industry to those pictures, that may shoot you up to five thousand words, at least. In that spirit, we’ve added some snapshots from our market survey this week, along with some comments from market participants.
Final thoughts
I thought we’d have more clarity this week on Section 232, Mexico, and a potential carve-out for steel melted and poured in Brazil. As of right now, the only official comment I have is from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
Final thoughts
There are just 40 days left until the 2024 SMU Steel Summit gets underway on Aug. 26 at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) in Atlanta. And I’m pleased to announce that it's official now: More than 1,000 people have registered to at attend! Another big development: The desktop version of the networking app for the event has officially launched!