Final Thoughts

SMU was told this afternoon that AK Steel has finally “caught up” on their hot rolled and cold rolled orders and, as our source put it today, “was out looking for orders.” There was no reference to AK dropping pricing at this time. We were told the mill was still sold out on coated products. Nonetheless, it is worth watching to see if AK becomes the first to break ranks with the other mills.

I asked a number of mills to comment about the surge in cold rolled imports into the United States. I couldn’t get any of them to comment. We either got a “no comment” back or, in the case of one domestic mill, and advisement that they were not involved in any “action” at this time. It will be interesting to watch the mills should the Chinese continue to ship massive amounts of cold rolled and coated steels. As I mentioned in an article earlier in this newsletter, even some of the companies who admit to being foreign buyers are surprised at the price levels being offered and the number of tons coming in.