Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
March 17, 2017
We will begin a new analysis of the flat rolled steel market on Monday with our invitations set to go out at 8 AM on Monday morning. If you receive an invitation please take a moment to click on the link/button contained in the message which will take you to SurveyMonkey.com which hosts our questionnaire. If you would like to be added to our invitee list please send me your name, email address, position and phone number. Please send it to: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Registration is open for our next Steel 101: introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop which will be held in Ontario, California and will include a tour of the California Steel Industries steel mill. More details can be found online and we will have hotel information posted on the site by the middle of this week. The April 11-12th workshop in Toledo, Ohio has been sold out for almost a month and we thank those who have registered for that workshop. We also thank North Star BlueScope for their support by allowing our group to tour their mill as part of our workshop.
I will be in the office all week this week. Next week I will be traveling to Las Vegas to speak to the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA). I am looking forward to getting out west and speaking to the SFIA members.
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
“Trump took to Twitter.” That was a familiar story lead in Trump 1.0. Now it’s “Trump took to Truth Social (or X)." The latest example: President-elect Donald Trump on Monday evening said he was “totally against” U.S. Steel being acquired by Nippon Steel in a post on Truth Social.
Final Thoughts
And so it begins (again). Not to be outdone by Thanksgiving, President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of 25% on all imports from Canada and Mexico. He also threatened to hit all imports from China with tariffs of 10% - an amount that would come on top of a boatload of pre-existing duties and tariffs.
Final Thoughts
“We’ll always have Paris,” as the famous line in Casablanca goes. And this month, the global steel industry did as well. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Steel Committee met in the City of Lights earlier this month. There was also a meeting of the Global Forum addressing excess steel capacity.
Final Thoughts
It’s once again A Tale of Two Cities in the steel market. Some are almost euphoric about Trump’s victory. Others, some rather bearish, are more focused on the day-to-day market between now and Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
Final Thoughts
One of the perhaps unintentional perks of being a trade journalist is the opportunity to travel and cover an array of industry conferences and events. Some I've attended have been at fun locations, like Palm Springs and Tampa, Fla. Others have been in more practical locations, like SMU’s Steel Summit in Atlanta and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) meetings in Washington, D.C.