Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
May 7, 2018
The final circumvention decision on Vietnam is due tomorrow, but will not be announced to the public until Thursday. We will have a full article and comments from trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz in Thursday evening’s issue of Steel Market Update.
The recent Court of Appeals case may have some impact on the Vietnam final determination. It is not yet clear what will happen.
One area of concern is determining the origin of material. There is going to be a lot of discussion about what processing is “significant” and what is “minor” as that could impact the country of origin. SMU expects there will be complaints against (for example) OCTG coming out of Korea that is made from Chinese substrate.
Earlier this week, we sent out a link (same link as shown below) to all of our members asking for a few moments of your time so that we can learn more about our clients, as well as what we are doing right and what we could do better as we expand and look to improve our products and services. Please, if you have not already answered, Click here to give us your feedback. Thank you in advance for your time and insights.
Our Steel 101 workshop is totally sold out and we have a waiting list. A special thank you to Nucor for allowing us to tour their Arkansas plants at Hickman and Nucor-Yamato. I am looking forward to announcing our next workshop, which will be in either late September or early October at a mill we have not toured before. Stay tuned for details.
There is still plenty of room for more attendees for this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. We are closing in on 450 registrations on our way to 800 executives. This will be a tremendous networking opportunity for anyone associated with the flat rolled, plate or pipe and tube markets. If you have not been to a Steel Summit Conference, you are in for a treat. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 800-432-3475 or info@SteelMarketUpdate.com and I will do my best to twist your arm… Details and registration can be found at www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/events/steel-summit or by calling our office at 772-932-7538.
Tim Triplett and I will be at the Metals Industry Boy Scout Dinner at the Hyatt in downtown Chicago on Thursday. I spoke with Lori Hahn of Steel Dynamics earlier today and she told me there are still some tables and individual tickets available. Click on the sidebar ad in this newsletter to find more information and to register.
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
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.

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 […]

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.

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).

Final Thoughts
A look at how SMU survey respondents are reacting to President Trump's recent actions on tariffs.