Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
August 21, 2017
I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. We are trying to accommodate everyone who wants to attend our 2017 SMU Steel Summit Conference even though we are technically sold out. We did manage to loosen up a few seats and those were gobbled up the moment we let people know they were available. Now we are trying to accommodate those who waited until the last minute or who began the registration process but never finished and were never confirmed. Please be aware that every single seat has been sold and will be in use during the conference…
I got a note from one of our readers who advised that the Circumvention case has a looming deadline of Aug. 31.
Trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz advised that the Section 337 case is in discovery (The ITC is reviewing the circumvention portion of that case – we have an article about that in tonight’s issue). AD/CVD we should know something by September. Section 232 – its all politics right now and being held up by the president.
I am on the road tomorrow. I will return phone calls as I am able. I should be in Atlanta and back to my daily routine by Thursday (whatever that means in light of our conference being just a few days away).
A special thank you to my staff who are doing a great job holding all the pieces together heading into the conference: Ray Culley, Diana Packard, Brett Linton, Alison Lalonde, Tim Triplett, Sandy Williams, Peter Wright, John Eckstein, Mario Briccetti and Steve Painter.
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
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Final thoughts
Last week was a newsy one for the US sheet market. Nucor’s announcement that it would publish a weekly HR spot price was the talk of the town – whether that was in chatter among colleagues, at the Boy Scouts of America Metals Industry dinner, or in SMU’s latest market survey. Some think that it could Nucor's spot HR price could bring stability to notoriously volatile US sheet prices, according to SMU's latest steel market survey. Others think it’s too early to gauge its impact. And still others said they were leery of any attempt by producers to control prices.
Final thoughts
For something that wasn’t on the agenda in Washington this week, the proposed Nippon Steel deal for U.S. Steel is getting a lot of attention.
Final thoughts
Nucor made waves in the sheet market when it announced on Friday that it would begin publishing a weekly hot-rolled (HR) coil price. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker arguably made even bigger waves on Monday when it posted its first weekly HR number: $830 per short ton. That’s $70/st lower than the $900/st HR price Cliffs announced in late March. It’s also lower than prices in the mid-$800s that other mills were (less publicly) seeking.
Final thoughts
They say all’s fair in love and war. But that doesn’t seem to be the case in steel. Being deemed “unfair” could get you slapped with shiny new Section 232 tariffs these days. Then again, “unfair” implies a judge. And people on opposing sides seldom agree with the judgment. Such seems to be the current case between the US and Mexico.
Final thoughts
Sheet prices continue to inch higher. That’s a welcome development for many. But it’s also a far cry from the price surge many predicted about a month ago. Remember the theory that supported a spring surge: Sheet prices would soar on a combination of mill outages, stable-to-strong demand, restocking, mill price increases, and (potentially) trade action against Mexico as well.