Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
October 31, 2014
So, the question of the week is – will the $20 per ton price increase announced by most of the mills, first, be followed by those who have not yet announced, and second, will the mills even attempt to make it stick. A $20 per ton increase does not represent strong, confident steel producers. Usually at this time of year we see increases in the $30-$50 per ton range. Although in fairness to the mills, pricing this year has not been that volatile and when markets as relatively stable $20 per ton may be all that the doctor ordered (especially when scrap is poised to drop $20 to $30 per ton).
When I made the original commitment to attend the Association of Steel Distributors (ASD) Fall Conference in Las Vegas I did not think about what weekend they had picked – Halloween. As you can imagine Halloween is a bit of a production in Las Vegas. So, in keeping with the tradition of Halloween I had to come up with something unique for a costume. My thought process was Las Vegas is known for Elvis Presley and I know that everyone has been wondering what did Elvis wear when he went out for Halloween?
A bit of comic relief for our readers.
I am constantly looking for things that have happened to our readers, workshop attendees or conference attendees that show the value that we are bringing to the flat rolled steel industry. While in Las Vegas I met with one of our readers that also attended our Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta in September. He told me about a special financing deal they were working on with their main lender that was floundering at the time of our conference. By random choice he happened to sit next to a large financial institution that was attending our conference and they struck up a conversation. To make a long story short they were able to work out the financial arrangements due to a random networking opportunity at our conference.
That is exactly what we were looking for when we put our conferences and workshops together. We want our customers to be able to connect with other attendees with the result being a new customer, supplier or an enhanced learning experience.
I am also looking for reasons why you or your company read Steel Market Update and what value do we bring to you or your company? Please send me your thoughts, stories or examples to: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
Mike Marley of SteelPrices.com reported on Friday that a number of scrap deals had been done on shredded in Ohio and in the South at $30 to $37 per gross ton lower than the purchase prices negotiated at the beginning of October. We will have more details about the scrap market and where prices settle later this week.
I will have more about the Association of Steel Distributors conference later this week.
A reminder that our next Steel 101 workshop will be held in South Carolina in January (20 & 21). Workshop includes a tour of Nucor Berkeley. Details are on our website or you are welcome to contact our office with any questions you might have. I will be in the office all week this week and can be reached at 800-432-3475 or info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
Our next steel market survey will begin at 8 AM on Monday. If you receive an invitation please take a few minutes to click on the link and respond to the questions.
Thank you again to those of you who are recommending Steel Market Update to your customers, suppliers and friends within the industry. Referrals now come with rewards for those referring new companies to our newsletter. We will provide a $100 credit for each new company you refer that becomes a subscriber. The credit can be used for our workshops, conference, expansion of your membership or renewal within 12 months of the credit being issued. Questions: give me a call.
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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