Final Thoughts

 I was asked a number of times today – in a couple of different ways – why Steel Market Update has not adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator from Neutral where it has been for about one month to Lower. The reality is we have been watching spot flat rolled pricing quite closely to see at what point would we start to see a wholesale movement toward lower prices.

There are some unusual circumstances with the current market in that you have two mills: US Steel and ArcelorMittal who have lost, or continue to lose, significant amounts of raw steel production due to both planned and unplanned outages. We also had the ice situation on Lake Superior and around Saute Ste Marie that has impacted iron ore shipments and we are hearing that Essar Steel Algoma is only now offering some spot tonnage into the U.S. for August delivery.