Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
November 30, 2016
NLMK USA has gotten the go-ahead on a new walking beam furnace for the Pennsylvania plant. Some pre-construction has already begun. James Baker, Jr. told us in an email, “We will be installing a walking beam furnace in Farrell. We have already started on initial site prep with target completion date of September 2018. There will be no negative impact on production thru the entire project, we have engineered this so as to be seamless to our customers. We will achieve significant improvements in quality, energy efficiently, emissions and scheduling from the new furnace.”
We have 3 seats left for our next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop which will be held in Huntsville, AL on January 24-25, 2017 with a tour of the Nucor Decatur mini-mill. Come join us in learning about the steel making process (EAF and Blast/BOF), how qualities of steel are made and how the market works. You can find information on our website or by contacting our office at 800-432-3475.
We intend on conducting four Steel 101 workshops during calendar year 2017.
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
I wrote in a Final Thoughts a few years ago that it seemed all the swans were black. More recently, I’ve been asked by some of you what the wildcards are for 2025. You could probably make the case that all the cards are wild now.
Final Thoughts
SMU lets readers respond on their thoughts about President Joe Biden blocking Nippon's deal for U.S. Steel.
Final Thoughts
Some world-changing events happen in an instant. Others take many twists and turns. The outcome remains unknowable at every phase. That is, until you finally arrive at the end of the roller coaster, the safety bar lifts up, and you stagger off the ride. It appears such is the case with Japan’s Nippon’s Steel Corp.’s (NSC’s) proposed $14.9-billion buy of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel. And the ride ain't over yet.
Final Thoughts
I’m not sure what to say about President Biden’s blocking Nippon Steel’s deal for U.S. Steel that hasn’t already been said. I think it’s fair to say, as U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt did, that this was ultimately all about politics and had very little to do with national security. SMU has tried to remain […]
Final Thoughts
We never eat chicken on New Year’s Day. My Irish-Catholic grandmother thought it was bad luck – because chickens scratch backward. And one should start the year looking forward. But it’s hard to avoid the fact that we’re carrying a lot 2024 issues (and even 2023 ones) forward into 2025. That’s not all bad. We’re starting 2025 with SMU’s hot-rolled coil price at $675/per short ton (st). That’s $370/st lower than $1045/st at the outset of 2023, according to our interactive pricing tool. I think we can safely say that a decline of that magnitude won’t happen in 2025.