Final Thoughts
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Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
August 15, 2016
I heard this evening that Turkish hot rolled for September shipment was recently booked at an average price of $25.50/cwt CIF, Duty Paid ($510 per ton). Latest offer on Mexican hot rolled $26.50/cwt ($530 per ton) and cold rolled at $31.50/cwt ($630 per ton). The hot rolled numbers make sense and are reasonable against domestic numbers that are below $600 per ton. The cold rolled numbers are out of whack not because the foreign steel is being dumped but rather due to the spread between domestic hot rolled and CR/Coated base prices (over $200 per ton).
I have been speaking with all of the presenters for this year’s Steel Summit Conference. Everyone is fired up for a great conference and the timing appears to be just about right as we try to figure out what the rest of the year holds for the industry as well as calendar year 2017.
I spoke to both Jaynie Smith and Diane Thielfoldt who are the speakers in the late afternoon on Tuesday and Wednesday. I hope that many of our attendees will take the opportunity to see and hear two exceptional speakers and programs. I spoke to Dr. Alan Beaulieu of the Institute for Trends Research and he told me he is coming in early to catch Jaynie’s program on Creating a Competitive Advantage. Diane will speak about the multi-generational workforce. If your company has Millennials in the workforce you NEED to attend this program…
Our Steel 101 workshop is a little more than 50 percent full a little more than 3 months before the program. I have mentioned this before as this will be a special workshop as we tour the brand new Big River Steel literally as it begins to melt scrap for the very first time. You can find more about the workshop on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com or you are welcome to contact me with any questions you might have: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475.
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
That’s not to say Section 232 shouldn’t be tightened up. Or that certain trade practices – even among our traditional allies – weren’t problematic. But when it comes to the reboot of Section 232, I do wonder whether there will be some unintended consequences.
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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.