Final Thoughts
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Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
November 20, 2015
This week is Thanksgiving (Thursday) and we are one month away from the Christmas Holidays as well. Here is what our publishing schedule will look like over the next five weeks or so. We will publish on Tuesday of this week and then we will not publish again until the following Tuesday, December 1st. We will continue to follow our normal publishing pattern until we get to the week of Christmas. We will publish on both the Sunday and Tuesday prior to Christmas (December 20 & 22) and we will not publish on Christmas eve (24th). We will publish again the following Tuesday, December 29th and we will not publish on New Year’s Eve (December 31st). We will go back to our normal Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday rotation on Sunday, January 3, 2016.
However, should there be any breaking news that we feel must be covered we will do so in an abbreviated issue.
We began picking up our first registrants for our Leadership Summit which will be held at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. So far those registering or indicating they will be attending are company presidents or corporate executives. If you would like to be added to this select group you can do so online or through our office: 800-432-3475. We will continue to roll out more details in a variety of ways over the next couple of weeks.
We also have registration open for our next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop which will be held in Starkville, Mississippi on January 19-20, 2015. This workshop will include a tour of the SDI Columbus steel mill and we expect it to be an exceptional program. Registration can be made online or through our office: 800-432-3475.
If you are located in an area known for cold, snow and ice – places like Mississippi (in January) and Florida (in early March) should sound like the place to be. Come join us.
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
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John Packard
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Final Thoughts
As February comes to a close this week, the scrap markets are poised for another – and perhaps more extreme – move upward in March. March is usually a month when scrap prices relent as winter’s impediments subside. That’s not the case this year. And this time, the driver of prices will be increased demand from mills along with restricted flows over the last two months.
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Final Thoughts
The US steel market has whipsawed upward on the prospect of expanded Section 232 tariffs of 25% being applied to imported steel - including downstream goods - on March 12. It seems pretty clear that domestic steel mills have the ear of the Trump administration when it comes to Section 232. The result? The much-anticipated Trump bump has finally arrived - and then some.
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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 […]
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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.
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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).