Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
June 19, 2015
I will be in my office all week (yea!) this week. This is probably the first time I have spent a full week behind my desk in the last couple of months. If you have any questions for me this is a good week to track me down and ask away….
I would like to take a moment to thank Ira Kreft, Mary Blizzard and all of the good people at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch offices in Chicago for allowing me to speak to a number of their clients this past week.
I also want to thank the Association of Steel Distributors for hosting Ray Culley and myself at their Chicago regional meeting. I am quite certain that we will see a number of the ASD membership at our Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta on September 1st and 2nd.
We have a new writer who will be splitting the duties of writing about hot rolled coil (HRC) futures, busheling (BUS) futures and iron ore trading. We want to welcome Spencer Johnson who is a risk management consultant in ferrous and base metals with FC Stone, LLC. If you have any questions you would like Andre Marshall of Crunch Risk, LLC or Spencer Johnson to tackle, please send them to: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
Registration is open for our next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop which will be held in Davenport, Iowa and will include a tour of the SSAB mini-mill (EAF). Information is on our website or you are free to contact me in my office with any questions that you might have. Steel Market Update member companies receive special discounts on this (and all) workshop as well as our Steel Summit Conference. The dates on the Steel 101 workshop in Iowa are October 6-7, 2015.
If you are currently on a free trial to our newsletter and would like to learn more about becoming a member (subscriber) please feel free to contact me at 800-432-3475 or by email: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com. We very much would like to earn your business.
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.