Industry Comments from Importer of European Steel

The following comments were made by an importer of European steel as SMU was updated on their view of the industries they service in the United States. SMU thought the comments provide an interesting perspective for our readers:

“Auto has been coming back strong. I don’t see the impact on the domestic mills, but I hear that they are under pressure to meet the demand. The same is the case in the EU. Demand is coming back faster than the mills can keep up. This has been a surprise for us – good and bad. The movement in the market has been a welcomed surprise. It is also coming at a good time as many contracts are coming up for renewal between now and the end of the year. If lead times stay extended and scrap prices continue to move higher, it will mean better opportunities for auto and non-auto contracts that expire between now and December. We need that after two years of poor to mediocre pricing since 232 went into effect. The one thing that could hurt this is bringing capacity back on-line that is currently idled. That could be like dousing a campfire with a water tanker.