Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
July 5, 2015
Our ferrous scrap sources told us that Detroit scrap prices were settled earlier today where all of the prices were reported as being sideways (no change from June pricing) with the exception of shredded scrap which was reported as being down $10 to three mills, sideways to another and one mill being undecided. We will have much more on ferrous scrap prices on Thursday as negotiations come to a final resolution.
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Our first keynote speaker will be Dr. Chris Kuehl of Armada Corporate Intelligence. Here is something that they wrote in this evening’s report, “We wrote months ago about the plummeting of iron ore and steel in China and thought at the time that it might be an early indicator of problems mounting in the country at a street level. We also wrote about some small bankruptcies that had started where (for the first time in years); the Chinese Central Bank was not stepping in to bail those companies out. They were letting them go under. The Chinese manufacturing sector has been in contraction for most of 2015 and the Baltic Dry Index hit an all-time low this spring. The evidence was there, if we were willing to pay attention to it. The fact that Chinese manufacturing and output is weak during a time when the US dollar is very strong (which would make acquisition of products from China very cheap), should concern us even further. Something at a fundamental, market level is very wrong in the country.” The world is a crazy place and it does impact the U.S. markets – including the steel industry and end user markets.
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John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
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Final Thoughts
From one group of folks, I’ve heard that Trump might not wait until Feb. 1 – the date he threatened on to place tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico. They say he could act as soon as Friday. And then there are those who don’t think anything will happen before April 1. That’s the deadline for Commerce, Treasury, and USTR to submit key reports on “America First Trade Policy” to President Trump.
Final Thoughts
Trump made a clarification in a speech on Monday. Previously, he had declared the word “tariff” the most beautiful word in the dictionary. No longer.
Final Thoughts
President Donald Trump on Sunday hammered Colombia with 25% tariffs and threatened to increase them to 50%. Trump in a post on Truth Social said he took the action not because of a trade dispute but because the South American nation had refused to accept planes carrying deported immigrants. The president also cited "national security" concerns, just as he did to justify 25% Section 232 tariffs on steel in his first term. Even the 50% threat echoes his first term. Turkish steel, like that of most nations, was assessed a 25% tariff in March 2018. Trump doubled Turkey's tariff to 50% via a tweet in August of that year over a matter unrelated to steel.
Final Thoughts
We surveyed many of you this week and asked what you wanted to see from the new Trump administration. Responses were varied but fell largely into three groups: tariffs and trade policy, the Nippon-U.S. Steel deal, and those who are concerned about too much government sway in steel. Some also expressed hope that President Trump would continue the infrastructure spending that began under former President Biden.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes new presidential administrations hit the ground running. No time for change like the present. And sometimes new administrations blast off on a SpaceX rocket bound for Mars. There’s a big universe, and we’ve got a lot of flags to plant. Such seems to be the case with the new Trump administration.