Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
March 24, 2014
I have been asked about the rumor mill surrounding coated products and especially the Asian 4 exporting countries. The Asian 4 are: China, India, Taiwan and South Korea. Steel Market Update is aware that at least one mill has been pushing for dumping suits on coated products. We understand that not all mills favor the suit. We do not know if it will ever be filed but, just the threat of one has the light gauge galvanized and painted Galvalume markets shaking a bit.
The question I ask myself is can the domestic mills prove injury. Not being a trade law expert I can’t answer that question. There does seem to be a larger percentage than normal on Galvalume imports and they are growing according to the import data we have been reporting on. However, South Korean exports of OCTG have been out of whack and, to date, they have not had to pay any penalties.
The other import rumor out there is a potential suit against Chinese cold rolled. Again, the rumor is pointing to one domestic mill and the question is will others support the complaint?
Stupidity has hit close to home… I am speaking at the Toronto Steel Buyers dinner on Wednesday evening. So, being the bright person that I am, I finally got around to fetching my passport only to find that it expired on March 15th… Can you say darn it with enthusiasm? I sure did. So, I fly to Detroit only to visit a passport office and hope that my request for an expedited process will be done with compassion (and haste) so I can make my speech. By the way – stupid is when the arrangements for this speech were made 1.5 years ago….
For those attending the dinner I promise to deliver a good program – I just need to get there in time.
After this speech I anticipate staying close to the office for a few weeks.
Registration for the next Steel 101 workshop are going well. We have approximately 8-10 spots left before we will be sold out. If you are interested you can find details on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com or you are welcome to contact our offices: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by phone: 800-432-3475.
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
Who could’ve guessed that the first stage to follow liberation would be confusion. Well, when things get this liberated this fast, perhaps it’s to be expected. From the 30,000-foot view, “Liberation Day” didn’t have a significant impact on steel tariff-wise. That is, the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs stand alone from the reciprocal tariffs […]

Final Thoughts
The market breathlessly awaits the arrival of President Trump's "Liberation Day."

Final Thoughts
I’m not sure what I can write today that won’t be old news after April 2. The Trump administration has dubbed Wednesday “Liberation Day.” Since it’s mostly about tariffs, let’s just call it “Tariff Day.” Or maybe we should call it “Tariff Week” – since tariffs typically dominate the news cycle in the first week […]

Final Thoughts
A personal perspective on Galvalume prices from SMU analyst Brett Linton.

Final Thoughts
After a March frenzy, are prices nearing a peak in April? Some of you have suggested that they are. Others think it's too early to make any such call.