Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
July 10, 2019
I am carefully watching flat rolled and plate lead times, the ongoing negotiations and tone of the discussions between buyers and sellers of steel, as well as industry sentiment and how service centers are handling their spot pricing into their customers. We are seeing some signs of momentum shifting on some products (especially coated), but we have not yet seen enough consistent strength to take us off the Neutral Price Momentum Indicator we have on flat rolled and the Lower Price Momentum Indicator we have on plate. This may change over the next few days and we will advise as soon as the determination is made to adjust our indicator.
I will be in my office until the end of July. If you have any questions about possibly nominating someone for the 2019 SMU NexGen Leadership Award, please feel free to contact me at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by phone at 800-432-3475.
I have received and accepted some requests to speak at conferences or company meetings later this year or early in 2020. I enjoy speaking at these events. If your organization or company is interested in having me speak, or a combination of myself and a CRU speaker, please contact me at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
I know there are many companies whose memberships to SMU are coming up for renewal in August and September. I highly recommend you consider upgrading to Premium level membership, and I highly recommend you consider going with a Regional membership, which allows you to add as many people from your company as you wish. If you would like to learn more about membership options, please contact Paige Mayhair at Paige@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by phone at 724-720-1012.
For those of you who receive Metal Center News magazine, there is a good article about the SMU NexGen Leadership Award on page 10 of the July issue.
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, President & CEO

John Packard
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