Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
January 16, 2014
I was reading the most recent economic forecast from the Institute for Trend Research (ITR) on the plane to Chicago this morning. Their analysts have an interesting take on the 2014 economy and we will share portions of their views with you beginning with Sunday evening’s newsletter. One item that caught my eye is their suggestion that now is the time for company’s to hire and train employees in order to be prepared for the up cycle which they think will begin later this year and into 2015. Steel Market Update happens to agree and that is one of the reasons why we are producing the steel training workshops that we have and working on creating new ones. Now is the time to prepare yourselves and your team for a better (albeit competitive) market which will be here sooner than we all may realize.
Our Steel 101: Introduction to Steelmaking & Market Fundamentals workshop is an excellent program to send both new and experienced employees. We work on broadening their knowledge of not only how steel is made but, perhaps more importantly, how it is used. We discuss how steel is bought and sold and market forces which impact pricing and competition. You can find more details on our website or by contacting our office at: 800-432-3475 or info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Next workshop is February 4 & 5, 2014 in Mobile, Alabama and includes a tour of the SSAB steel mill.
I am speaking at the AWMI dinner in Chicago this evening. A special thank you to the ladies of the AWMI for their invitation and the opportunity to speak to their group.
I will be in New York City next week for the AHR Expo – if you would like to speak to me during the show please drop me an email: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com and we will arrange a time to meet.
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
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.