Final Thoughts

The answer was I rented a cottage about as far off the grid as I could get in Maine. Far enough away that cell service was sketchy at best, I managed to hang up my rental car on a tree stump on the side of the road and we saw a moose on the dirt road behind our house….

I have only returned to the office as of Monday this week, and I have been getting acclimated to the new world that all of you are living in. Prices are up big over the past 30 days, and it appears they will remain up over the near term.

One thing I have learned over the two days that I have been back in the saddle–automotive is quite strong. One comment made to me was the auto companies were building inventories as quickly as they can to blunt any impact a possible “second wave” shutdown we might have if the coronavirus spikes in the coming weeks.

As per the HARDI call we had this morning, residential and commercial construction remain strong for now, but there are concerns regarding commercial construction as we look out to later in the fourth quarter and into next year.

Inventories are balanced to low and with the jump in lead times due to supply issues some companies were caught short. For example: If you are operating with 2.0 months of coated inventory (galvanized and/or Galvalume) and lead times are out to 8 weeks or longer, you have an issue.

Reflections during my sabbatical:

I spent some time reflecting on my time in the steel industry, the company I originally built, the events we produce and the changes that are occurring all around us.

This is a POLITICAL year (caps on purpose) and truly a year when votes will make a big difference in the direction of this country, relationships with the rest of the world and how important “balance” is when it comes to the idea of a balance of power system. We are some 45 days away from the election and I am not going to advise you on how you should vote – only that you do and you vote as early as possible in your particular state.

I have gotten to see how radical “change” is with moving from a live conference to a virtual event. We (USA and London events teams together) put on the strongest conference possible under the circumstances. I hope those who registered took the time to review the information that was shared by 40+ speakers. We learned a lot about how to pivot and move to a virtual event.

Looking out to 2021, our desire is to conduct a live event, but we are prepared should we need to do a virtual event.

The value of data, the collection of data and information in general is changing. COVID has affected the way people think and react to situations. I don’t know if we will ever return to “normal” when it comes to buying and selling steel. This is something we will be watching and advising on in the coming days, weeks and months.

SMU has strengthened our team by hiring David Schollaert who will be developing new content and improving on existing content in both our Premium and Executive issues of the SMU newsletters. We have plans to continue to expand as we move into the new year. I am also working on new products to enhance existing products to assist in the understanding of the flat rolled and plate markets.

Now is a good time to contact Paige Mayhair to expand or upgrade your existing membership or to become a new subscriber to Steel Market Update. Paige can be reached at 724-720-1012 or by email at Paige@SteelMarketUpdate.com

As our company grows, we are finding interest in advertising expanding on our newsletter, website or through our events. We are starting to look at newsletter advertising for 2021 right now. If interested, you can learn more by contacting Jill Waldman at 303-570-6570 or Jill@SteelMarketUpdate.com and she will gladly answer any questions you might have.

I am back in my office and can be reached at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Feel free to send me questions, comments and suggestions.

As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.

John Packard, President & CEO