Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Written by John Packard

September 18, 2017

There is a wide variance between what the MSCI reported for flat rolled inventories this week and what Steel Market Update reported on Sunday. As we look at our numbers, the mega service centers tended to carry less inventories (based on months of supply, not in total tons) than the medium and smaller distributors that are included in our index. We continue to add service centers and to refine our data and data collection. If you are interested in participating in our index, you can reach me at: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com

This evening, the U.S. Department of Commerce released new license data results through Sept. 19, and the licenses picked up over the past seven days. The new numbers have foreign steel imports moving toward another 3 million net ton month. We will have a full break-out of the report in Thursday’s issue of Steel Market Update.

I was discussing imports during the HARDI steel conference call earlier today. So, I want to let those interested in galvanized imports know that September is trending toward a 250,000+ net ton month. Hot rolled is trending toward 150,000+ net tons. Slabs licenses have picked up and are trending toward 700,000 net tons.

If you are ever having any issues with a SMU product (newsletter, workshop, conference) and would like to get our attention, the best email address to use is: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. That email address goes to multiple people within our organization (including myself). This is an easy way to make sure your issue is resolved as quickly and effortlessly as possible.

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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