Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
July 29, 2014
We are going to hold off on doing an import analysis other than to say that the latest license data suggests July imports will be approximately the same as June. I will check the latest numbers to see if there are any huge variances compared to what we reported over the past few days. If so, we will produce the updated numbers in Thursday evening’s edition of Steel Market Update.
A comment from one executive of a service center regarding the threat of dumping suits. Essentially he stated that the threat can’t stay hanging over the industry forever. At some point in time the mills either have to file or the industry has to ignore the threat.
Chinese cold rolled exports for the month of July are trending toward a final monthly number around 60,000 net tons. This would be less than what we saw in June (84,965 net tons) and well below the peak for the past twelve months which was 105,236 net tons received during the month of April 2014.
On the other hand Chinese exports of hot dipped galvanized appear to be trending toward a July tonnage level of approximately 85,000 net tons which would be at May 2014 levels which was the 12 month high for China.
We will have Key Market Indicators out within the next couple of days for our Premium Level members (actually everyone since you are all receiving Premium Level content for the remainder of July).
I want to welcome our newest members to Steel Market Update. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about our articles, website or just in general please do not hesitate to send them to me. I try to be responsive to the needs of our members and many times questions/comments/suggestions lead to articles and discussions which is something we encourage. I can be reached at: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
See you in Atlanta?
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
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.
Final Thoughts
Another presidential election cycle has come to an end. If you’re anything like me, part of you is just happy you no longer need to unsubscribe or “text STOP to opt-out” from the onslaught of political text messages this cycle produced.
Final Thoughts
With the US presidential election decided, ‘wait and see’ has quickly turned into ‘we’re about to find out.’ Following Donald Trump’s victory, I had a chance to sit down with Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). He gave his thoughts on what he thought we might see in Trump’s second term in office, and what it means for steel.