Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
May 10, 2017
As I mentioned in one of the articles in tonight’s edition of SMU, I have been speaking with trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz on a whole host of subjects. We will be working on an article to help our readers better understand the ramifications of the Section 232 review (national security) and what powers the President of the United States has to respond to the Department of Commerce findings. The steel and manufacturing industries could be in for a shock, or, maybe nothing will happen at all.
I have also been asked when the annual reviews are due for CORE, cold rolled and hot rolled antidumping and countervailing duties. I am going to check with Lewis Leibowitz on this subject as well. My gut feel is that we will be seeing some of the reviews at about the time of our conference (in case you needed another reason to attend).
I am extremely happy knowing that I will be working with Tim Triplett beginning in early June. I think, within a very short period of time you will notice that our articles are better written and the subjects covered will be expanded. Tim covered not only steel for Metal Center News but also aluminum and copper. He has worked extensively with the metals service center industry but also with manufacturers and toll processors. His contacts are much different than mine which will add even more strength to our content. For those of you who will be at the Boy Scout Dinner in Chicago next week both Tim and I will be there. We also plan on being in New York City at the end of June (26th and 27th) and I hope to be able to introduce Tim to as many steel industry buyers, sellers and executives as possible. If you would like to get on our calendar while we are in New York please send me an email: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com
We still have plenty of room at our Steel 101 workshop in California. We don’t get to the West Coast very often so I highly recommend those on the “other” coast to register for this workshop. I also recommend the workshop to those on the East Coast, Midwest, and South since the Ontario, CA location is right next to an international airport unlike many of our other workshops that are located away from major airports. You can find details about the workshop, costs and how to register on our website.
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
Can technology help with pig iron and DRI/HBI tariffs?
Final Thoughts
Tariff-related noise aside, there is one basic factor keeping buyers on the sidelines. Despite recent declines, HR prices remain at historically high levels. And there is no obvious support to keep them there.
Final Thoughts
United Airlines raised eyebrows earlier this month when it provided two forecasts for 2025 – one assuming a relatively stable economy and another assuming a recession. The reason? Uncertainty around the impact of President Trump’s policy shocks on the broader economy. And it sometimes feels like we’re seeing a battle between those two narratives (stable vs recession) play out within in the pages of this newsletter.
Final Thoughts
Despite some scary headlines lately (especially about Trump potentially firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell) this is not October 2008 (financial crisis) or March 2020 (onset of the pandemic). But it sure seems like we’ve taken a relatively strong economy and poured a thick sauce of uncertainty over it.
Final Thoughts
I put some of our survey data through ChatGpt, with interesting results.