Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
October 16, 2013
Steel Market Update saw a letter from Majestic Steel to their customers publically announcing a price increase. Majestic, which is well known as a supplier of coated products to the HVAC and construction industries, told their customers that the price increase is due to cold rolled base prices reaching as high as $39.50/cwt and $40.50/cwt on hot-dipped galvanized. The exact amounts of the increases were not published as they varied depending on industry, item, location and previously quoted pricing levels.
We encourage those who have received an invitation to participate in our steel market questionnaire to click on the link provided in your invitation (or reminder email). All responses are kept confidential and are combined with the other 100+ respondents that we get to all of our surveys.
Our articles on the on-going contract negotiations have struck a nerve with many readers. Over the past couple of days I have had conversations with a few large manufacturing companies who view the past and the present through a different lens than I have with my mill, service center and trading company background. I will spend more time on the subject but I would like to pose the question which was presented to me by a couple end users: What is a fair and/or reasonable price difference between a Tier 1 buyer and that of their smaller competitors? For that matter what makes a company a Tier 1 buyer vs. being Tier 2 or 3? Please send your comments to: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
We surveyed many of you this week and asked what you wanted to see from the new Trump administration. Responses were varied but fell largely into three groups: tariffs and trade policy, the Nippon-U.S. Steel deal, and those who are concerned about too much government sway in steel. Some also expressed hope that President Trump would continue the infrastructure spending that began under former President Biden.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes new presidential administrations hit the ground running. No time for change like the present. And sometimes new administrations blast off on a SpaceX rocket bound for Mars. There’s a big universe, and we’ve got a lot of flags to plant. Such seems to be the case with the new Trump administration.
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.