Service Centers
February 17, 2015
Steel Buyers Remind SMU, “It’s Not 2008/2009”
Written by John Packard
“It’s not 2008 or 2009.” We heard this from trading companies, steel service centers and mills during the Port of Tampa Steel Conference this past week. This week we are hearing similar comments as we make our rounds talking to those active in the industry.
Prices have been collapsing but there does not appear to be a panic amongst buyers of steel. They point to a respectable demand scenario in the United States and prefer to concentrate on the positives associated with the market and not the negatives. Negatives that buyers attribute to unbalanced inventories at the service centers and the rapid rise in the value of the U.S. dollar which has plagued commodities such as iron ore, coal, oil, scrap and now steel.
