Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
July 18, 2014
In the last issue of Steel Market Update I warned that there are lots of rumors swamping the steel market as negotiations for Severstal NA heat up (or are perhaps already over) and Gallatin entertains bids on their mill (half owned by Gerdau and half ArcelorMittal). The other mill issue is the Chapter 15 (Canadian equivalent of Chapter 11) filing by Essar Steel Algoma. Consolidation is upon us and will be one of the topics which we will need to discuss during our Steel Summit Conference in September.
Speaking of our Steel Summit Conference and speakers – I don’t know how many of you had a chance to see metals and mining analyst, Timna Tanners of Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Fox Business News last week. If you missed it here is a link to her comments and optimism regarding the steel industry in the U.S. At the left is a photo taken of her off the TV screen.
Timna Tanners and John Anton of IHS Global Insight will be featured speakers discussing the changes occurring in with the steel industry and they will forecast benchmark steel prices for 2015 and beyond. This year will be the 4th time they have spoken together at one of our conferences. As we have found out on previous occasions they do not necessarily agree on their forecasts. This year we will give them a chance to ask each other questions as well as present to our attendees.
The next week or two are looking like they will be quite interesting. We may start to get some clarity regarding the Severstal Deaborn and Columbus plants. We may also get some action (or not) on the rumored trade case on cold rolled and potentially coated flat rolled products.
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
Where do you want to be the first week of September?
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.