Ryerson Sees Opportunity for Steel Prices to Go Higher Over Next One to Two Quarters

Ryerson Holdings saw a challenging year in 2016 with demand contracting but pricing improving. CEO Edward Lehner noted, “Carbon steel prices recovered from decade lows at the end of 2015, peaked in June of 2016, and deflated again in October of 2016 before starting in upward trajectory that has continued into the first quarter of 2017. Through 2016, we also saw double-digit underlying commodity price improvements in nickel and aluminum which continued into early 2017, until very recently seen some retracement.”

Lehner says Ryerson has “budding but contained optimism regarding the present state of demand within the metals service center landscape.”