Final Thoughts
May 21, 2018
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
I spent most of today canvassing the flat rolled and plate steel markets. A portion of the results of my inquiries can be found in our pricing article (indexes) and Tim Triplett’s article entitled, “SMU Q&A: No Signs of a Price ‘Breakout’ Either Way.”
Many steel buyers are confused by the lack of clarity in the markets. I had a conference call with a manufacturing company who tried to pick my brain as they asked me to forecast what the highs and lows could be over the next 12 months. In a normal market, that range could well be $500-$700 per ton for benchmark hot rolled. In a normal market, the spread between base price HRC and CRC and GI/AZ would be $100-$140 per ton.
