Final Thoughts
July 15, 2020
Final Thoughts
Written by Tim Triplett
Today there was an explosion at the “D” furnace at ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor. Will there be some impact on the market? Will it be enough to put a bottom to the slide in prices? It’s too early to tell, but we will be watching developments closely in the coming days and weeks.
Steel shipments between steel producers and distributors, and between distributors and steel users, are closely tracked. But there is a significant and growing amount of intermarket trade between big distributors and smaller ones that does not get the same scrutiny. Service center sources tell Steel Market Update they have seen a bump in orders from other service centers that have trimmed their inventories due to the coronavirus and are looking to fill some holes, as they aren’t yet ready to buy in mill quantities. Still, commented one service center exec, even with the extra orders from peers/competitors, volume is not yet back to pre-COVID levels.
