Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
March 31, 2014
From time to time Steel Market Update uses words or phrases within articles which sometimes will set off your SPAM filters. You may notice that I never use the “M” word. The word used to describe a home loan. It is one of the words that SPAM filters love to hate. Another word is survey – I try to use “market analysis” as much as possible in order to limit the words SPAM filters do not like. If you do not receive your newsletter in your inbox please let us know – but, at the same time also realize you have total access to each and every newsletter 24 hours a day. All you have to do is log into the website. They are all there – including the ones we are working on and may not have finished yet.
When we created the website one thing we wanted to make absolutely sure of was that everyone had access to the news, pricing and other data – including all of the newsletters, at any point during the day. So, if you did not receive your newsletter and you have a hankering to read it at that moment – you can! Just log into the website and hover over the Newsletters Tab. A drop down menu will appear and you will have the option of clicking on Executive Archives (or Premium/Monthly depending on your membership level) and all the newsletters will be there. The only exception is when we are publishing a new issue as we publish them first to the Home Page (rolling headlines) on the front of the site. You can access them there. Once we actually publish the full newsletter (usually around 10 PM ET at night) then the full issue will be in the Archives section as well as on the Home Page.
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Scrap – we are still hearing that market prices are rising. According to our sources, even with the situation at USS Great Lakes, scrap is very tight, export demand is improving and early trades are up $20-$25 per gross ton. We will have more about the scrap markets in Thursday’s issue of SMU. With the ISRI conference next week the deals should all get done by the end of the week.
Steel 101 in Dearborn, Michigan in May is almost completely sold out. We have three (3) spots left before we must close the class due to restrictions on the number of people who will be allowed to tour the Severstal Dearborn steel facility. If you want to attend – now is the time to register. You are also welcome to contact our offices at: 800-432-3475.
Premium Level members received our Key Market Indicators in a special supplemental issue yesterday. Later this week we will have CPIP (construction put in place) for Premium members as well. If you would like to learn more about Premium Level membership feel free to contact us or check out our website.
A quick note, if your company is expanding, putting in new equipment or announcing promotions or new executives Steel Market Update would like to spread the word either through our blog or in our newsletter. You can send press releases or notices to: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
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Final Thoughts
We joked in our last Final Thoughts that Wiley trade attorney Tim Brightbill – one of the nation’s leading experts on trade law and policy – would probably be revising his presentation on Trump, trade policy, and tariffs for the Tampa Steel Conference. He did. And even after those last-minute revisions, he actually got trumped […]
Final Thoughts
The whole SMU team is packing up our laptops and our SMU polos/cardigans, loading up the PowerPoint slides, and preparing to make the trek down to Florida for the Tampa Steel Conference. There will be plenty to talk about!
Final Thoughts
From one group of folks, I’ve heard that Trump might not wait until Feb. 1 – the date he threatened on to place tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico. They say he could act as soon as Friday. And then there are those who don’t think anything will happen before April 1. That’s the deadline for Commerce, Treasury, and USTR to submit key reports on “America First Trade Policy” to President Trump.
Final Thoughts
Trump made a clarification in a speech on Monday. Previously, he had declared the word “tariff” the most beautiful word in the dictionary. No longer.
Final Thoughts
President Donald Trump on Sunday hammered Colombia with 25% tariffs and threatened to increase them to 50%. Trump in a post on Truth Social said he took the action not because of a trade dispute but because the South American nation had refused to accept planes carrying deported immigrants. The president also cited "national security" concerns, just as he did to justify 25% Section 232 tariffs on steel in his first term. Even the 50% threat echoes his first term. Turkish steel, like that of most nations, was assessed a 25% tariff in March 2018. Trump doubled Turkey's tariff to 50% via a tweet in August of that year over a matter unrelated to steel.