Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
November 18, 2013
I have a question for our members – I have just received the new bill for what it will cost me to publish the CRU indices in our Sunday night comparison of various indexes. Before I agree to pay what I believe to be an excessive amount for the right to publish their numbers I would like to hear from our members as to the value of our CPI (Comparison Price Indices) articles and the value of having the CRU hot rolled and cold rolled numbers in our newsletter. If you would like for us to continue to provide CRU indices please send me an email: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
One of the things we are considering is moving the money invested in CRU to China and for us to provide Chinese prices and more analysis on the Asian markets on a weekly basis. If you would like to see SMU provide data and analysis in our newsletter and website on the Chinese markets please send me an email.
We are starting to get feedback from those of you who have taken the time (and effort) to go to the new website and sign in for the first time. The website is much different than our old site and there are a lot more toys to play with – for both you and us. It will take some time for us to get used to using the site and then maximizing what we have available. For example, we have our own survey software (separate from that shown on the front of the website) which will allow us to embed surveys in our newsletter and/or website. Once we figure out how to use it – we will.
We are working on instruction videos to try to make the transition easier – for both you and us.
Diana has become the in-house expert on getting people logged into the website and showing them how to use the website. We would be very happy to assist any of our members as you search for data and try to make sense out of what we have to offer.
I know that there were a number of people who got to see the website change as we added articles. Almost every article in tonight’s newsletter was available on the front of the website prior to 5:30 PM ET.
Again, we encourage each and every one of you to log into the website and reset your password. We will continue to send out the full newsletter but only for a limited period of time.
If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me or my staff at 800-432-3475 or by email: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com
As always your business is truly appreciated.
John Packard
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Final Thoughts
It’s once again A Tale of Two Cities in the steel market. Some are almost euphoric about Trump’s victory. Others, some rather bearish, are more focused on the day-to-day market between now and Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
Final Thoughts
One of the perhaps unintentional perks of being a trade journalist is the opportunity to travel and cover an array of industry conferences and events. Some I've attended have been at fun locations, like Palm Springs and Tampa, Fla. Others have been in more practical locations, like SMU’s Steel Summit in Atlanta and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) meetings in Washington, D.C.
Final Thoughts
t this point in the game I think what we can say about Nippon Steel’s proposed buy of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel is that it will go through, it won’t go through, or the outcome will be something new and completely unexpected. Then again, I’m probably still missing a few options.
Final Thoughts
President-elect Donald Trump continues to send shockwaves through the political establishment (again). And steel markets and ferrous scrap markets continue to be, well, anything but shocking. As the French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote in 1849, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." (I thought the quote might have been Yankees catcher Yogi Berra in 1949. Google taught me something new today.)
Final Thoughts
President-elect Donald Trump will officially retake the White House on Jan. 20. I’ve been getting questions about how his administration’s policies might reshape the steel industry and domestic manufacturing. I covered the tumult and norm busting of Trump's first term: Section 232, Section 301, USMCA - and that's just on the trade policy side of things. It's safe to say that we'll have no shortage of news in 2025 when it comes to trade and tariffs.