Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
December 28, 2016
Today’s issue is our 150th Executive newsletter (Volume 11, Issue 150). We averaged 11.4 articles per issue so we published 1718 articles. On top of that we published 51 Premium newsletters which average 2.5 articles per issue for another 124 articles. We have produced thousands of graphics, many of which our readers are able to access through our website. We conducted 24 flat rolled steel market trends surveys. Premium readers are provided a Power Point of our survey results with an average of 50 slides per Power Point or 1,200 slides over the course of the year.
At the same time we conducted three Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshops (Columbus, Mississippi with SDI, Sylvania, Ohio with NorthStar Bluescope and Memphis, Tennessee with Big River Steel). All three workshops were sold out and we are looking to expand to four workshops in 2017 to accommodate all of the companies interested in sending employees to this workshop.
We also conducted our largest (430 steel executives) Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta, Georgia during the last three days of August. We will once again be in Atlanta for our 7th Steel Summit Conference when we expect to host more than 500 steel executives. The 2017 dates are August 28th, 29th and 30th at the Georgia International Convention Center located adjacent to the world’s busiest airport. As our conference grows so does the area around the convention center as a third hotel will be ready for us (as well as the Airport Marriott Gateway and its sister hotel across from the convention center) should we need more rooms. We will begin announcing more details about our next Steel Summit Conference as we move into the New Year. With a new administration in the White House we expect there will be much to discuss and learn by the end of August… Mark your calendars and tell both your suppliers and customers Atlanta is the place to be for the biggest and best steel conference in North America.
This will be our last newsletter in calendar year 2016. We will resume normal operations on Tuesday, January 3rd when we will issue Volume 12, issue 1.
I want to take a moment to thank the SMU staff and instructors who have helped make this a record year in our history.
A special thank you to our most senior employee and my right hand man: Brett Linton.
I also want to give special thanks to Diana Packard, Sandy Williams, Alison LaLonde, Peter Wright, Ray Culley, John Eckstein, Steve Painter and Mario Briccetti as well as a couple contributing writers: Paul Lowrey and Damon Sun.
I want to thank everyone who has become a fan of Steel Market Update and has been vocal about it. We don’t have a sales force here so our success is rooted in the good will of our customers. Please tell your friends in the industry that they need to read SMU and attend our workshops and our Steel Summit Conference. They will not be disappointed.
We could not do this without you, our customer. As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us associated with Steel Market Update. Thank you very much for your business and your support.
Have a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!
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.)