Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
February 19, 2018
The first advice I have for steel buyers is don’t panic. Nothing has been announced on 232 yet. Someone mentioned to me this evening that in reality the president hasn’t made a bad decision yet (I am going to ignore Russia – just talking about business related issues). Section 232 may be the first, but the betting is he will figure out a way to keep his promise without alienating the rest of the world and starting a trade war. So, don’t panic. Let’s see what happens over the next few weeks and then we will meet again to see what needs to be done next.
Most of the trading companies are doing just that. Taking a breather for a few weeks, letting the market settle a bit and waiting for calmer heads to prevail.
Registration for our March Steel 101 workshop is sold out. If you are interested in sending someone to the Merrillville, Ind., workshop, which includes a tour of the NLMK Portage EAF mill, please contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com and we will advise if we can squeeze another person into the workshop. I will announce our next workshop date and location soon.
I want to welcome Big River Steel as a corporate sponsor to this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. BRS joins Pacesetter, Bank of America, Crowe Horwath, Heidtman Steel, Nucor, Modern Metals, Magic Coil Products, Mill Steel, MidWest Materials, Red Bud Industries, All Metals Service and Warehousing and Alliance Steel. We now have only three sponsor slots left. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or exhibitor, please contact Jill Waldman at Jill@SteelMarketUpdate.com or myself at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com
I will have more about what is being said at the Port of Tampa Steel Conference in Thursday’s issue of SMU.
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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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.
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