Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
March 27, 2019
I want to make sure that all of you thinking of attending this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference are aware of some of changes, so you can plan your schedules accordingly. First, the CME Group will be hosting a Price Risk Management Workshop in the Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway Hotel (next to GICC) from 10:30 a.m. until noon on Monday, Aug. 26. Second, the conference will begin on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. in the Georgia International Convention Center. First up will be Chris Houlden and Josh Spoores of the CRU Group and myself. We will be discussing some of the proprietary indices we produce, and CRU will discuss their price forecast for the balance 2019 and 2020. Third, the CRU Group will host an Aluminum Conference immediately following the SMU Steel Summit Conference.
To learn more about the CRU Aluminum Summit Conference, please use this link: http://bit.ly/2uwwEz1
Some of the companies that registered executives for the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference during last 24 hours (companies with * have more than one person): Steel Dynamics*, Precoat Metals*, Agway Metals*, AGCO, U.S. Steel*, Spantek Expanded Metal, Central Steel & Wire*, Nucor Tubular*, Nucor Sheet Mill Group*, Southwark and Ryerson*. The total number will soon exceed 250 registered attendees with five months to go until the event. You can register online by clicking here.
I intend to put out a much more detailed email regarding our conference, agenda and speakers in Sunday evening’s issue of Steel Market Update.
For those of you who will be in New York City on June 17, the CRU Group will conduct a free Steel Briefing for clients of CRU and SMU. Let us know if you are interested and we will provide a registration link.
My next business trip is not until Monday, April 15 & 16 when I will be in Orlando for the Air Distribution Institute. So, I will be stationary for the next couple of weeks for those who would like to speak with me. I can be reached at 800-432-3475 or by email: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, President & CEO
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
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.
Final Thoughts
Nearly 50% of respondents to our latest survey thought hot-rolled coil prices have already peaked. And where will those prices be two months from now? Responses were decidedly split on that question.