Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
September 22, 2014
Consolidation may not be over yet. We saw a report this evening out of Minnesota about how Essar Steel Minnesota has failed to secure financing to complete the $1.8 billion taconite pellet facility. The company’s India parent company was so over-leveraged it was put on the top ten watch list by Credit Suisse one year ago, according to a report in the Star Tribune out of Minnesota. Essar is also the parent company of Essar Steel Algoma which recently was able to procure funding for the Canadian steel mill.
We added a couple more people to our Steel 101: Introduction to Steelmaking & Market Fundamentals workshop in Ft. Wayne, IN in a couple of weeks (October 7 & 8). The workshop will include a tour of the SDI steel mill in Butler, IN. We encourage anyone who has been thinking about attending to register soon as we will close registration late this week. If you have any questions, please contact our offices at 800-432-3475 or info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
The next workshop after Indiana will be in South Carolina in late January and will include a tour of Nucor Berkeley. More details on this workshop will be coming out in the coming days.
I want to take a moment to welcome our newest member companies and let them know that we encourage interaction with our people. If you have a question, comment or suggestion we are here and available. This includes me personally and I can be reached at: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by phone at 800-432-3475.
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Some of you have told me that the current market feels about as crazy as early 2021 when demand snapped back after the initial outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Others have said it might be more like late February/early March 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine – and, in the process, caused […]
Final Thoughts
To say we’ve entered a “Brave New World” since Jan. 20 might be an exaggeration, but we’ve definitely entered a different one.
Final Thoughts
I think it’s fair to say that the last few weeks – and last week especially – have been among the most intense for any of us covering steel (or aluminum).
Final Thoughts
A look at how SMU survey respondents are reacting to President Trump's recent actions on tariffs.
Final Thoughts
A lot of the changes basically entail rolling back what I’ll call, for fun, Section 232 Lite. S232 Lite resulted from watering down what I’ll call OG S232 – the one first imposed in March 2018 - with exemptions and exclusions over the years. Now, OG Section 232, is back with its across-the-board 25% tariffs against everyone.