HARDI Wholesalers Still Negative on Steel Demand

Steel Market Update (SMU) participates in a monthly steel conference call with the wholesalers associated with HARDI. The HARDI wholesalers supply the residential and commercial mechanical contractors associated with the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) industry. The wholesalers on this monthly conference call supply or manufacture products out of galvanized sheet and coil and try to share information about the galvanized steel market with other wholesalers and HARDI member companies.

The cold weather experienced throughout the United States and Canada this past week, coupled with the New Year’s Holiday landing in the middle of the week, impacted shipments out of the wholesalers and related companies during the first two weeks of the New Year. HARDI members reported shipping problems with delays in the receipt of trucks carrying steel. Many of the companies in the Northeast and Midwest reported having facilities down for one or two days due to the extreme cold weather.