Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
February 24, 2020
We have adjusted our plate price momentum indicator from neutral to lower. Prices have been dropping over the past couple of weeks, and steel buyers are very negative on the markets right now (see some of the comments in an article above).
I have to tell you I am really struggling with all of the information I am collecting as I try to determine whether flat rolled price momentum is on the side of the steel mills, uncertain, or on the side of the steel buyers. Prices have been sliding recently and did again this week based on the data we collected. At the same time, some steel buyers are reporting extended mill lead times and anticipate higher scrap numbers coming next week (our sources are reporting a “strong sideways” to up $20 depending on the market and product). A few buyers have told SMU the steel mills are becoming more rigid in trying to hold their existing numbers. We are also hearing whispers of a pending price announcement out of the domestic mills as they attempt to stop the slide and stabilize the markets.
We are keeping our flat rolled price momentum indicator at lower for now based on the prices collected this week. However, my gut feel is we are close to a bottom unless the coronavirus begins to affect businesses here in the United States.
Stay tuned.
We will have a total of 27 sponsors for the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Of these, 20 spots are confirmed and two are tentative. This leaves five spots currently available. I want to say thank you to all our sponsors as well as our exhibitors for this year’s conference. Here are the sponsors for this year’s event:
Platinum Conference Sponsor: Red Bud Industries
Gold Sponsors: Kenwal Steel, Mill Steel, Bank of America, Crowe LLP, Big River Steel, Pacesetter, Heidtman
Silver Sponsors: Delta Steel Technologies, Nucor, Steel Manufacturers Association, BMO, Magic Coil Products, CME Group
Bronze Sponsors: Acero Prime, MidWest Materials, Paragon Steel, Alliance Steel, Ratner Steel
We are waiting for final confirmation of sponsorships from Ternium and Interlake Steamship Company.
If you would like to know what sponsorships are still available, please contact Jill Waldman at 303-570-6570 or by email: Jill@SteelMarketUpdate.com
This year we have 36 exhibition booths in our newly expanded exhibition area. Of these, 26 booths have been reserved, leaving 10 available should your company have an interest in reaching out to the anticipated 1,200 executives attending this year’s conference.
The current exhibitors are: XOM Materials, Red Bud Industries, Alcos, Andes Coil Processors, Ryder Dedicated Transportation Solutions, Braner USA, Inc., Riteload, Ryerson, Delta Steel Technologies, Dienes, Bank of America, Reibus, Crowe LLP, Pacesetter, Mobius Risk Group, Big Ass Fans, AkzoNobel Coatings, Inc., Georg, CRU and Steel Market Update.
If you would like to exhibit at this year’s event, please contact Jill Waldman.
Our next Steel 101 workshop is now two-thirds full. We still have seats available for the March 31-April 1 workshop, which will be held in Merrillville, Ind., just outside of Chicago. We will tour the NLMK Portage steel mill. You can find more details by clicking on this link.
A reminder that I will be out of my office beginning Thursday of this week and will not return until Friday of the following week (March 6).
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
Sometimes new presidential administrations hit the ground running. No time for change like the present. And sometimes new administrations blast off on a SpaceX rocket bound for Mars. There’s a big universe, and we’ve got a lot of flags to plant. Such seems to be the case with the new Trump administration.
Final Thoughts
What’s been the impact of tariff threats on prices and demand? In short, not much – or at least that was the case when I was writing this column on Sunday afternoon. Spot activity for Canadian material, for example, has been put on hold over the last few weeks while the market waits to see what the new tariff landscape might look like.
Final Thoughts
Next Monday marks the start of the second Trump administration. The limbo we’ve been living in since Election Day in early November will finally come to an end. What better way to take a look at what’s coming up in Washington, D.C., than a conversation with Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) President Philip K. Bell. He […]
Final Thoughts
It’s another week of big headlines and ho-hum pricing moves – which is to say the start of 2025 is looking a lot like the end of 2024. Scrap has settled up $20 per gross ton (gt). Steel prices, however, were a soft sideways this week. Chalk it up to uneven demand and abundant supply. And while we’re not aware of any major outages, some of you tell us that you’ve lost some shipping days here and there because of the recent cold snap.
Final Thoughts
I wrote in a Final Thoughts a few years ago that it seemed all the swans were black. More recently, I’ve been asked by some of you what the wildcards are for 2025. You could probably make the case that all the cards are wild now.