SMU Data and Models
April 23, 2020
SMU Market Trends: How Long Will Business Take to Recover?
Written by Tim Triplett
Companies are being affected to varying degrees by the coronavirus depending on their market and geography, so it’s no surprise their opinions range widely on how long it will take business to return to pre-COVID levels. Some hope for activity to rebound as soon as this summer, while others fear it won’t be until next year or even 2022. Fourth-quarter 2020 seems to be the dividing line, with half predicting recovery before then and half after.
Steel buyers—service center and OEMs—estimated their business will be down anywhere from 10 to 70 percent in May, with an average drop-off of nearly 40 percent. Industry executives shared the following thoughts (anonymously) during Steel Market Update’s canvass of the market this week:
