Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
October 7, 2019
SMU continues to pick up negative vibes through the analysis we currently are actively conducting on the flat rolled and plate steel markets. There is obviously something going on that is concerning buyers and sellers of steel. At the same time, one of the steel mills told me today that even though prices on their product are at low levels, their order book is quite strong. Hmmmm…. If you have received an invitation to participate in our questionnaire, please take a few minutes to answer our questions. We will be reporting what we learn later this week and over the weekend.
I am in Cincinnati conducting our 29th Steel 101 workshop. The weather was exceptional today as we toured the Nucor Gallatin steel plant, a mill that is involved in a major transition. Nucor is expanding the Gallatin mill, adding another 1.5 million tons of capacity taking the mill up to 3.0 million tons per year. We toured the new PGAL (pickle galvanize line), which takes hot rolled through the pickle mill and then straight into the galvanized line. This is a totally new production experience for the Gallatin mill, which was only a hot rolled provider prior to Nucor purchasing the facility in 2014. There is a new electric arc furnace under construction, along with a new caster and other equipment. Quite impressive.
We have an interesting group at this workshop. There are manufacturing companies, steel mills, service centers, toll processors, a trader and an investor in the steel industry. I expect a similar mix of companies in our next workshop, which will be held in Ontario, Calif. As part of that workshop, we will tour the California Steel Industries steel mill. You can find more details on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/events/steel101
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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Final thoughts
SMU has heard from some larger buyers who have stepped back into the market to buy at prices that, if not at a bottom, they assess to be close to one. Is it enough to stretch out lead times and send prices upward again? Or do we continue to scrape along the mid-$600s per short ton (st) as we have been doing for most of the last month?
Final thoughts
Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves had some insightful things to say today about the steel market and about a conference we suspect might be Steel Summit.
Final thoughts
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, when you add in some commentary from respected peers in the steel industry to those pictures, that may shoot you up to five thousand words, at least. In that spirit, we’ve added some snapshots from our market survey this week, along with some comments from market participants.
Final thoughts
I thought we’d have more clarity this week on Section 232, Mexico, and a potential carve-out for steel melted and poured in Brazil. As of right now, the only official comment I have is from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
Final thoughts
There are just 40 days left until the 2024 SMU Steel Summit gets underway on Aug. 26 at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) in Atlanta. And I’m pleased to announce that it's official now: More than 1,000 people have registered to at attend! Another big development: The desktop version of the networking app for the event has officially launched!