Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
January 6, 2014
We have been advised by our developers that they think they have solved the mobile issues which were impacting our members ability to read the newsletter on their smart phones. I personally have an iPhone and was having problems reading the newsletter (image was being cut off). As of yesterday this was rectified – although I had to clear my cache first (settings, Safari, clear history). It is best viewed in landscape mode as the print is still a little small.
If you have a smart phone – please let me know if you are continuing to have problems – or if they have been solved. You can reach me at: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com. If you have an iPad or other tablet device and you are having issues please let me know.
Earlier today I got an email from one of our members who was looking for our graphic showing the SMU Price Momentum Indicator on our hot rolled pricing graph. It was perhaps sheer luck that I had produced that article last night for this evening’s edition.
We have heard that U.S. Steel has re-started their blast furnace at Fairfield and it will be coming up over the next few weeks. We believe the Fairfield furnace was the last one to come back online and once up and running all of the blast furnaces in North America will be running. For more information about the furnaces when you are logged into the website you can go to the resources tab and look under steel mills – furnace status – blast furnace and we have all the furnaces listed and their status. This is for members only and the public cannot see these tabs when they are on the website.
Arthur, I know you are out there and I do read the comments made on articles when they are read on the website. Arthur missed my photo in Final Thoughts – so, for one day only it is I in the photo contained in this article… in real life I have more hair and my eyes open wider. OK, I lied about my hair.
We have about 8 spots left in our Steel 101 workshop. Please contact our office if you would like to learn more or have any questions: 800-432-3475 or info@SteelMarketUpdate.com
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update. Please take a moment to tell your friends about us as we always can use more good customers just like you.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
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.