Beginning the week of April 6, 2020 SMU will launch a new online webinar. We are calling it the “SMU Community Chat.” Our idea is to have a live discussion with SMU and other experts on one subject of importance to the greater steel community we serve in real time. Our idea is to allot […]
By John Packard, President & CEO, Steel Market Update Even though I have worked from my home office for more than 20 years, the last month “feels” different. More accurately, I do not feel as connected with the normal world as I have been in the past. The reality of being confined to a limited […]
By John Packard, President & CEO, Steel Market Update Even though I have worked from my home office for more than 20 years, the last month “feels” different. More accurately, I do not feel as connected with the normal world as I have been in the past. The reality of being confined to a limited […]
Waiting for the rainbow. Don’t get me wrong, the weather here in Florida is absolutely perfect today (and has been all winter). Sky is blue. Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. Inside it feels like it is raining. Actually, it feels like the thunderstorms are gathering. You can see the high tops of the clouds […]
Zooming – sounds like a new drug, doesn’t it? We will be hosting another SMU Community Chat Webinar on Wednesday, April 22, at 11:00 a.m. ET (and I promise to hit the “start” button on time this week). Speaking with me will be Bernard Swiecki of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). We will discuss […]
Today we took our Price Momentum Indicator on flat rolled steel to Lower from Neutral. We are clearly seeing an erosion in pricing, which is expected to continue over the near term. The economy is heading into recession. Key indicators are pointing toward a slowdown in construction as states and local municipalities mandate construction projects […]
Today we took our Price Momentum Indicator on flat rolled steel to Lower from Neutral. We are clearly seeing an erosion in pricing, which is expected to continue over the near term. The economy is heading into recession. Key indicators are pointing toward a slowdown in construction as states and local municipalities mandate construction projects […]
We are in uncharted waters. The key is not to panic. Learn to separate fact from rumor. I repeat, learn to separate fact from the rumors that tend to envelope this industry. For example: The “rumor” is the domestic steel mills are getting huge order cancellations. Is that a fact or is it conjecture based […]
There is no way to plan for this… The stock market was up 2,100+ points today. I don’t know anyone personally who has contracted the COVID-19 virus. My kids are safe, albeit without incomes for the time being. Gas prices are below $2.00 and headed lower. The weather in Florida is perfect, and technically I […]
There is no way to plan for this… The stock market was up 2,100+ points today. I don’t know anyone personally who has contracted the COVID-19 virus. My kids are safe, albeit without incomes for the time being. Gas prices are below $2.00 and headed lower. The weather in Florida is perfect, and technically I […]
NLMK USA’s plant in Farrell, Pa., is running a full schedule right now, but will idle its hot strip mill next week as the plant is low on slabs. The mill is dependent on imports of slabs. Its allocation of slabs for the second quarter does not open until April 1. The mill expects slabs […]
Today, Steel Market Update had conversations with manufacturing companies across the United States. We found businesses reporting strong demand, plants are still open, office workers tend to be working from home and factory workers are being trained on social distancing as well as personal/equipment hygiene. Most of those we contacted either on the phone or […]
Today, Steel Market Update had conversations with manufacturing companies across the United States. We found businesses reporting strong demand, plants are still open, office workers tend to be working from home and factory workers are being trained on social distancing as well as personal/equipment hygiene. Most of those we contacted either on the phone or […]
Since our inception, Steel Market Update employees have not worked in a formal office environment. Right now, our entire staff produces research, articles, edits and publishes our newsletters from home. We plan our workshops and conferences, interact with one another and the CRU offices in Pittsburgh, London and elsewhere around the world all from the […]
Since our inception, Steel Market Update employees have not worked in a formal office environment. Right now, our entire staff produces research, articles, edits and publishes our newsletters from home. We plan our workshops and conferences, interact with one another and the CRU offices in Pittsburgh, London and elsewhere around the world all from the […]
The new normal for me is talking to an industry executive on the phone and listening to the kids playing in the background…. We had a 45-point drop in both the Current and Future SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index this week (article is at top of tonight’s issue). This is the largest one-week change in […]
The new normal for me is talking to an industry executive on the phone and listening to the kids playing in the background…. We had a 45-point drop in both the Current and Future SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index this week (article is at top of tonight’s issue). This is the largest one-week change in […]
Yesterday Steel Market Update received a note from USS/POSCO regarding their waiver from the mandatory “shelter in their place of residence” order within Contra Costa County in California. UPI received their waiver due to the “essential nature of UPI’s business and services.” SMU anticipates there may be situations that arise where a mill, manufacturing company […]
The world is changing, it is not ending. I expect the steel industry will go through some changes as well. In Europe, the car makers are closing manufacturing facilities. Europe seems to be a couple weeks ahead of us here in the United States. Will we see the same plant closures in a couple of […]
Well, isn’t this special… Being Americans, I have seen my share of videos and cartoons where people are selling toilet paper and hand sanitizer like a drug deal. I must say I normally don’t have much food in the house. My freezer is now full. My son is a professional musician and last week he […]
When the media began reporting on the COVID-19 (coronavirus) a few weeks back, Majestic Steel sprang into action. This morning Steel Market Update spoke with Todd Leebow, CEO of Majestic Steel in Cleveland, Ohio, about how his company is dealing with the risks associated with the virus. As soon as the risk of the virus […]
When the media began reporting on the COVID-19 (coronavirus) a few weeks back, Majestic Steel sprang into action. This morning Steel Market Update spoke with Todd Leebow, CEO of Majestic Steel in Cleveland, Ohio, about how his company is dealing with the risks associated with the virus. As soon as the risk of the virus […]
Is it me, or has the world become much more complicated recently? The NBA has suspended games indefinitely. The NCAA “March Madness” basketball tournament will be played in empty stadiums. Princess Cruises just announced they are cancelling cruises for the next 60 days. Europeans will not be allowed to fly to the United States for […]
The world is changing in nanoseconds before our eyes. Did anyone think the whole country of Italy would be restricted/quarantined a few weeks back? Yesterday, Saudi Arabia decided to go to war with Russia over the price of oil, and voila the price drops 30 percent in one day. The U.S. has hardly begun testing […]
We get all kinds of reactions to articles we publish. However, I was a bit surprised when one of our readers sent a note regarding our coverage of IHS Markit’s forecast of the impact of the coronavirus on the U.S. economy. The note said, “Article on coronavirus was despicable. Let’s just start a panic.” Usually, […]
Earlier today SMU heard the gloomiest economic forecast since the Great Recession of 2008-2009. John Anton, IHS Markit Associate Director Pricing & Purchasing, came roaring right out of the gate with the IHS view on how we should be thinking about the coronavirus in the United States. He told attendees at the FMA Annual Meeting […]
Over the past two days Tim Triplett and I have been participating in the FMA Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. The mood of the steel buyers I met with was moderately negative when it came to the ability of the steel mills to collect the price increases announced. One very large service center buyer […]
U.S. Steel continues to make interesting moves having now purchased the balance of the ownership in USS/Posco (UPI), 49.9 percent of Big River Steel with an option to purchase the balance, the $1 billion+ capital investment in the endless casting, rolling and cogeneration at Mon Valley Works and the $750 billion investment in Gary Works. […]
Steel Market Update raised its Flat Rolled Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral yesterday from Lower in anticipation of a price hike believed imminent from the mills. As expected, Nucor and U.S. Steel both announced increases today of $40 per net ton on all new spot orders of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel, effective […]
Steel Market Update raised its Flat Rolled Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral yesterday from Lower in anticipation of a price hike believed imminent from the mills. As expected, Nucor and U.S. Steel both announced increases today of $40 per net ton on all new spot orders of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel, effective […]