Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
September 24, 2013
I want to thank IHS Global Insight for allowing SMU and our readers to attend their Pricing & Purchasing Summit which was held in Chicago over the past two days. SMU is interested in conducting a similar conference dedicated to the steel industry and identifying risks next year as we strive to bring new value to our members and the steel community.
Based on the conversations I have been having with end users, service centers and steel mills over the past few days it appears we may be in one of those interesting times within the steel industry. We have a number of factors coming together – new management at two mills – USS and Severstal and another mill is for sale (ThyssenKrupp). We have contract negotiations beginning and, so far, the mills seem to be committed to doing a better job of controlling their fate and attempting to become more profitable. After many years of shooting themselves in the foot maybe now is the time to make a stand?
Of course end users are not pleased with the changes and I found John Anton of IHS Global Insight comments today to be compelling – maybe it is time for buyers to weigh all of the risks in their supply chain and supporting slightly higher prices may pay dividends over the longer term.
Earlier this evening, Severstal NA announced the appointment of a new Vice President of Commercial. His name is Sachin Shivaram and his background is with ArcelorMittal and McKinsey and Company. He replaces Tom Marchak who has been appointed to the position as Special Advisor to the CEO. We will have more on this on our blog tomorrow.
By the way – John Temples and I will be at Metalcon this year in Atlanta. I expect to attend the AKZO Nobel cocktail reception and to be on the floor for the first day of the show. If you would like to make arrangements to speak to John or myself you can shoot us an email at: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
As always we want to thank our members for their support and their business which is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
What’s been the impact of tariff threats on prices and demand? In short, not much – or at least that was the case when I was writing this column on Sunday afternoon. Spot activity for Canadian material, for example, has been put on hold over the last few weeks while the market waits to see what the new tariff landscape might look like.
Final Thoughts
Next Monday marks the start of the second Trump administration. The limbo we’ve been living in since Election Day in early November will finally come to an end. What better way to take a look at what’s coming up in Washington, D.C., than a conversation with Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) President Philip K. Bell. He […]
Final Thoughts
It’s another week of big headlines and ho-hum pricing moves – which is to say the start of 2025 is looking a lot like the end of 2024. Scrap has settled up $20 per gross ton (gt). Steel prices, however, were a soft sideways this week. Chalk it up to uneven demand and abundant supply. And while we’re not aware of any major outages, some of you tell us that you’ve lost some shipping days here and there because of the recent cold snap.
Final Thoughts
I wrote in a Final Thoughts a few years ago that it seemed all the swans were black. More recently, I’ve been asked by some of you what the wildcards are for 2025. You could probably make the case that all the cards are wild now.
Final Thoughts
SMU lets readers respond on their thoughts about President Joe Biden blocking Nippon's deal for U.S. Steel.