Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
February 12, 2018
First, tomorrow (Wednesday) is Valentine’s Day.
The heat is turning up on Section 232 discussions as trade groups, individual businesses and congressmen lean in and provide their opinions to President Trump. He still sounds like he is going to do something “disruptive,” but we just don’t know for sure.
As you can see from tonight’s issue, we are covering the subject on as many fronts and from as many angles as possible. We will continue to do so.
The other subject that we must all watch carefully is NAFTA and the negotiations between the United States, Canada and Mexico. Depending on the day, there seems to be one party complaining about the actions or tactics of another. We are watching the negotiations on a daily basis.
We are also working on the transportation issues that are impacting a large swath of the industry catching some end-users unprepared for the “new normal” when it comes to just-in-time deliveries. Tim Triplett is working on the subject, and it will also be one that gets discussed at this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference at the end of August.
We now have approximately 3-4 spots left in our March 28-29, 2018, Steel 101 workshop, which will be held in Merrillville, Ind. NLMK USA Portage will host our group as we tour their EAF steel mill. We have been there a couple of times and they never fail to thrill our attendees. You can find details on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/events/steel101 or you can contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com with any questions you might have.
By the way, if your company has already registered someone to attend this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference and you wish to add more people (one at a time), please contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com and we can provide a code to ensure that you are charged the correct amount on the website. You are also welcome to contact our offices at 772-032-7538 and we can take your payment over the phone or arrange to send you an invoice.
I will be at the Port of Tampa Steel Conference next week. If you are attending the conference, please look for me in the crowd.
I will be publishing our full service center inventories report tomorrow morning (first to those who participated, then on Thursday to our Executive and Premium level members).
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
Despite some scary headlines lately (especially about Trump potentially firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell) this is not October 2008 (financial crisis) or March 2020 (onset of the pandemic). But it sure seems like we’ve taken a relatively strong economy and poured a thick sauce of uncertainty over it.
Final Thoughts
I put some of our survey data through ChatGpt, with interesting results.
Final Thoughts
Nearly 50% of respondents to our latest survey thought hot-rolled coil prices have already peaked. And where will those prices be two months from now? Responses were decidedly split on that question.
Final Thoughts
A modest week-to-week change in HR price understates a huge swing in expectations.
Final Thoughts
What happens when ChatGPT meets SMU's Market Chatter? No, this is not an idea for the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Then again, with what Hollywood is putting out these days, Chatter Meets Chat might just turn out to be a hit. Rather, it’s that old idea of putting theory into practice. Recently, I conducted an interview with Doug Schrock, managing principal of AI at public accounting and consulting firm Crowe. He gave some tips on how to implement AI into your business.