Final Thoughts
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Final thoughts
Written by Brett Linton & Ethan Bernard
May 9, 2024
Last week we wrote about a brief lull in price movement, labeling it a period of wait and see.
It did, in fact, turn out to be pretty brief. This week… things are little bit different. Perhaps right now, following a price decrease that was not priced in to the market, we are more in a period of “hope and pray” or “Here we go, hold on to your hats.”
When things get volatile, especially in prices, it’s often best to return to something solid. Go back to basics, the foundations you can count on. Ground yourself, get earthy, etc.
Coincidentally, this week’s crossword highlights just such a theme: raw materials. From scrap to coal, prepare to roll up your sleeves and dig in.
Note, we’ll be doing a steel-themed crossword every Thursday leading up to our Steel 101 course on June 11-12 in Fort Wayne, Ind. The course includes a tour of SDI Butler, an EAF sheet mill.
Another feature we’ll be introducing is “This week in steel history.” Our inaugural entry is below. If there are any key events in steel that you’d like to highlight, let us know at info@steelmarketupdate.com.
This week in steel history:
The first commercially successful Bessemer steel furnace in the US began operation on May 8, 1864, in Wyandotte, Mich., at the Eureka Iron Co.
Bessemer furnaces were gradually phased out in favor of blast furnaces, with the last US Bessemer furnace decommissioned in 1968.
For any of our veteran readers with great Bessemer yarns, feel free to pass them our way!
Crossword
Click here to attempt this week’s crossword.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/raw-mat-crossword-5.9.24-1024x744.png)
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Brett Linton
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Ethan Bernard
Read more from Ethan BernardLatest in Final Thoughts
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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?
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/gears.png)
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.
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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.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/gears.png)
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).
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/SMU-Steel-Summit.png)
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!