Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
March 5, 2018
I’ve lived through all kinds of trade cases, Section 201’s, voluntary restraint agreements – you name it. The U.S. government is not good for the steel industry and is not good for consumers of steel products. Gary Cohn is leaving the White House, apparently a signal that the 25 percent steel tariffs are coming your way… Look for a mess in the stock market tomorrow.
Along with the tariffs will be all of the fallout – including a lot of job losses. Steel buyers need to stay very close to your steel suppliers. You may actually be put in a position where you have to pay 5 percent, 10 percent or more just to get steel in the coming months. Steel prices will rise for sure. The question is will the U.S. get the foreign steel it needs to keep industry supplied with steel?
I spoke with a scrap source today who told me the scrap market is in turmoil and not yet settled. We will have more on scrap in Thursday evening’s issue.
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
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