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    January 15, 2021

    CRU: Chinese Policies Boost Global Sheet Prices

    Written by Josh Spoores

    By Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor

    One year ago, the title of our May Steel Sheet Products Monitor was “Global sheet markets move past bottom of demand cycle.” Today, global sheet consumption continues to rise, reaching levels where current global production cannot keep pace. In addition to the continued demand rebound from lows seen just over a year ago, most end-use sectors require higher inventory levels to accommodate this demand environment. While some portion of demand gains reflect inventory building, it is not yet clear how much, if any, inventory has been built through the global supply chain.

    Josh Spoores

    Josh Spoores joined CRU in 2012 as Principal Analyst and editor of CRU’s Steel Sheet Monitor and Steel Sheet Market Outlook. During that time, Mr. Spoores forecast prices, demand, production and trade of sheet and plate products for both Canada and the US for CRU's Steel Sheet & Plate Market Outlooks. Today, he heads up steel analysis and forecasting for the Americas region. Prior to joining CRU, he was a Senior Marketing Analyst at Severstal North America, founder of Steel Reality, a forward-looking market analysis firm using a models-based approach for flat rolled and plate steel. He was also the Market Research Manager at Majestic Steel USA, one of the largest flat rolled service centres in the USA. He has a BSc in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University.

    Read more from Josh Spoores

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