Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
April 13, 2018
On Monday, April 16 we will begin our mid-April flat rolled steel market trends analysis. Our goal is to be able to spot changes in pricing, demand, negotiations, sentiment and many other trends that ultimately affect steel prices in North America. If you receive an invitation to participate please answer the first question which will then take you to the rest of the questions being asked of your industry group this week. If you want to be added to the invitee list please contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com
A reminder that our Steel 101 workshop in Memphis, Tennessee still has plenty of room in it. I think this will be a special one since we are going to tour two Nucor mills – Hickman and Nucor-Yamato. I want to thank Nucor for working with us on this workshop as well as other Steel 101’s in the past. The workshop cost is $2,000 per person with a $100 per person discount for SMU member companies and another $100 per person discount for those companies sending two or more people. Details are on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/events/steel101 and you can register online or you are welcome to contact our offices at 772-932-7538. If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them for you. Send them to: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
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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Now that the USS/Nippon deal has been completed, what's next?
Final Thoughts
Getting back to the price increases I mentioned at the top of this article, to what extent are they aimed at raising prices and to what extent are they aimed at stopping the bleeding that was happening in the second half of May, before President Trump announced the 50% tariff?
Final Thoughts
We just wrapped another Steel 101 Workshop, where you take what you learned in the classroom into the steel mill.
Final Thoughts
Steel equities and steel futures fell hard after news broke earlier this week that the US and Mexico might reach an agreement that would result in the 50% Section 232 tariff coming off Mexican steel. The sharp declines didn’t make much sense, especially if, as some reports indicate, Mexico might agree to a fixed quota. They didn't make sense even if steel flows between the US and Mexico remain unchanged.
Final Thoughts
Even before the news about Mexico, I didn’t want to overstate the magnitude of the change in momentum. As far as we could tell, there hadn’t been a frenzy of new ordering following President Trump’s announcement of 50% Section 232 tariffs. But higher tariffs had unquestionably raised prices for imports, which typically provide the floor for domestic pricing. We’d heard, for example, that prices below $800 per short ton for hot-rolled (HR) coil were gone from the domestic market – even for larger buyers.