Final Thoughts

On Thursday I provided some of the feedback I was getting from those involved in both the sales and purchasing of flat rolled steel into the North American markets. The comments continued to flow in and here are a couple more that I found interesting:

The general manager of a service center provided these insights to me late on Thursday: “I think one needs to realize that the mills have in fact gotten prices on sheet up to a level we haven’t seen since Aug/Sept last year. They’ve recouped all of the last down-cycle drop, and then some. Current mill prices are now ‘good’ by any recent measures. So, it’s hard to see where further upside comes from. With scrap looking like it will be sideways to down, it’s causing a pause in sentiment. I think, too, that the pace of domestic output has caught the market by surprise to the high side. The same could be said for the Dec/Jan imports, when considering slabs into the mix. There’s a sense that buyers are very comfortable with where their inventories are and there’s no sense of urgency. I hope that we see a period of relative stability in the weeks ahead given the current dynamics.”