SMU Community Chat with Timna Tanners of Wolfe Research

Galv galore! Scrap Squeeze! Sheet Storm!

Clever catchphrases aside, we talked about increased capacity not only of hot-rolled (HR) coil but also of coated products. How will that tonnage fit into the market: Will it displace imports, collide with older capacity, or ramp up into a domestic market that needs more steel?

We talked about raw materials, too. The sheet market risks being oversupplied as new capacity ramps up. But could the scrap market risk becoming undersupplied as new electric-arc furnace (EAF) mills try to draw on a raw material that was once abundant but won’t be in the future?

Finally, we talked news. It’s an election year. Steel will be a part of the conversation again. Former President Donald Trump said he would, if elected, block Nippon Steel’s $14.1-billion acquisition of U.S. Steel. What does that mean when valuing shares of U.S. Steel in particular and steel assets more broadly speaking?

And we took questions, too. Tune in to catch this Community Chat.

Editor’s note: Check out SMU’s Community Chat page if you’d like to see recordings of past webinars, including our last one with CRU principal analyst and iron ore expert Erik Hedborg.