Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
April 20, 2015
We have been receiving a number of inquiries regarding changing Executive level memberships and upgrading them to Premium level. This is something we can do for any company or individual at any point in time during the year. It does not have to wait until your membership is up for renewal. If you want to take Premium out for a test drive we can arrange that as well. Premium members receive access to our flat rolled steel surveys in both a Power Point and interactive data formats. Premium members receive our special analysis and forecast of service center flat rolled shipments and inventories as well as our Imports by Product, Port & Country monthly reports. There are a number of special reports that are produced during the month which are sent to Premium members in the form of a special supplemental newsletter. These articles include our Key Market Indicators, currency updates for steel trading nations, construction put-in-place and many more. The Premium product is meant for those who need a deeper analysis or special focus on economic and steel data which is not readily available elsewhere. If you have any questions please contact us at: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by phone: 800-432-3475.
SMU Correction: SMU incorrectly reported a fatality at the Ecorse plant in December 2014 in our last issue. That fatality actually occurred in December 2013.
A friendly reminder to those of you who are interested in either attending or considering sending someone to our next Steel 101 workshop. We continue to have spots available in our May 19-20, 2015 program which will be held in Merriville, Indiana and will include a tour of the NLMK USA, Portage, Indiana steel mill. Details can be found on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com.
We welcome our newest members as well as those of you who have recently registered for a free trial to our newsletter and website. I want to remind everyone that we have an open dialogue policy and encourage questions, comments and suggestions on a wide range of topics. If you would like to communicate with SMU you can do so by sending an email to: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. I can be reached at either that email or directly at: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com. We look forward to hearing from you and do not be shy about suggesting what we might do to improve our products.
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
SMU looks back at stories from Decembers past, one, five, 10, and 100 years ago.
Final Thoughts
It's that time of year again. You know, that time when people wonder if those things are drones in New Jersey or if the aliens are ready to come onto the stage just in time for Inauguration Day. What will that do for steel price volatility? In any case, the SMU team finds itself in Pittsburgh this week.
Final Thoughts
The Community Chat last Wednesday with ITR economist Taylor St. Germain is worth listening to if you couldn’t tune in live. You can find the replay and Taylor’s slide deck here. You can also find SMU reporter Stephanie Ritenbaugh’s writeup of the webinar here. Taylor is Alan Beaulieu’s protégé at ITR. Many of you know Alan from his talks at SMU Steel Summit. I found Taylor’s analysis just as insightful as Alan’s.
Final Thoughts
Cracks have formed in what has been presented as the Biden administration’s united front against Nippon Steel’s play for U.S. Steel. A report from the Financial Times said parts of the administration are at odds on the deal.
Final Thoughts
It’s been another week of torrid speculation when it comes Trump and tariffs. And another week of mostly flat price movement when it comes to steel sheet and plate. As far as Trump and tariffs go, I think I might have lost track. We've potentially got 10% blanket tariffs on imports from China, 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, 100% tariffs on the BRICs, and 200% on Caterpillar. Canada might be the 51st state. Mexico could be the 52nd state. But all can be resolved if you stop by Mar-a-Lago and kiss the ring?