Ryerson CEO: Demand is the Joker in the Deck

Inventories, and whether they are too tight right now, have been a topic of discussion lately. Eddie Lehner, CEO of Ryerson Holdings commented on this during the Ryerson earnings call last week.

In his prepared remarks Lehner said, “Notwithstanding, the decline of CRU carbon sheet prices from a peak late in the second quarter of $637 per ton to $473 per ton at the end of October, signs of supply side price stabilization are emerging, whereas, the supply side was the greater of the twin problems causing price deflation and shipping contraction year ago, demand is the joker in the deck this time around as the industry shipments have continue to decline despite industrial base metals prices trending higher since bottoming during the fourth quarter of 2015.”