Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
June 7, 2019
This coming week will be a full week when I will be in my office. I am ecstatic. As with most weeks, this coming one will be spent trying to figure out what will cause this market to turn around. On Tuesday, I will publish our analysis of service center spot pricing to their end customers based on last week’s flat rolled and plate steel market trends survey. Have we reached the point of capitulation? If so, how much longer can service centers continue to drop prices and dump inventory? For that matter, how much longer (and lower) can the domestic mills go before they have no choice but to try to change momentum and move prices higher (or at least stabilize them)?
One of the other items I am working on this week is finishing negotiations to select our next Steel 101 workshop, which I anticipate will be held during the later part of September.
Registrations for the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference are approaching 700 with a little more than two months to go. I want to remind everyone who has not made hotel reservations that as of late last week we still had rooms at the Atlanta Airport Marriott (not the Gateway) which is located one exit south of the convention center. We will be running a shuttle between that hotel and the convention center during the conference. There may also be a few rooms left at the SpringHill Suites Gateway Hotel. You can use the links for the hotels by clicking on them. We also have lodging links on our website for our room blocks: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/events/steel-summit (click on the lodging tab).
I want to welcome our newest members and I encourage you to interact with us should you have a question or suggestion. We look forward to speaking with all of our members. You can reach us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com
If you want information about becoming a subscriber, or wish to renew or upgrade an existing membership, please contact Paige Mayhair at 724-720-1012 or Paige@SteelMarketUpdate.com
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, President & CEO

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.