Final Thoughts

August 14, 2017

As was mentioned earlier in tonight’s newsletter, our 2017 SMU Steel Summit Conference will be a sell-out this year and the question really is what day this week will we close registrations? I am both surprised and humbled by the response we have gotten to this year’s event. Our team works very hard to put on an “experience” that is comfortable and highly conducive to having a great learning experience and at the same time being able to network with hundreds of your customers or suppliers. Even better, hundreds of potential customers or suppliers…

Those of you sitting on the fence and not knowing whether to go or not to go to our conference, the clock is ticking…

So far today (Tuesday), three steel mills have announced price increases–all of them at $30 per ton–which essentially covers the $10-$30 per gross ton scrap increases the mills are having to absorb during the month of August from their scrap suppliers. The three mills we are aware of include: Nucor, ArcelorMittal USA and NLMK USA.

SMU’s Price Momentum Indicator remains at Neutral. When the domestic steel mills announce price increases, we automatically go to Neutral as we do not want to go out and signal which way prices will head until we get a clear signal from steel buyers who are actually placing orders. Let’s give it a week or so to work its way into the order books of the steel mills.

As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.

John Packard, Publisher