Final Thoughts

A quick note about ferrous scrap. From the early deals being done – and there are still a number yet which need to be completed. Our sources are advising us that scrap prices have been trading lower by $5 to $10 per gross ton in the east.  However, in the Midwest there have been trades made in the Chicago/Northern Indiana markets at the same numbers as September. We are hearing prime grades of scrap such as busheling traded sideways in Cincinnati and in Ontario.  In Pittsburgh and Birmingham we heard primes off $5 per gross ton. The market appears to be a little better than what one dealer had forecast over the weekend when he projected prices to be lower by as much as $20 per gross ton on prime grades.

Peter Wright mentioned in an article above how the shutdown of the government is affecting public data which is released on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.  One of the items affecting are imports and exports. The U.S. Department of Commerce website concerning imports is usually updated every Tuesday around 5 PM ET. No update this week.

For those of you who are unaware, our next Steel 101 workshop is next week in Blytheville, Arkansas. Besides myself, John Temples, John Eckstein, Peter Wright, Steve Painter and Diana will be in Blytheville. We are touring the Nucor Hickman mini-mill and I want to take a moment to once again thank them for allowing us to both tour and interact with their people. We are looking forward to the experience.

After the Blytheville/Hickman Steel 101 workshop our next one will be held in Mobile, Alabama and will include a tour of our first plate mini-mill when we tour SSAB in Axis, Alabama. Mark your calendars for February 4-5, 2014.  More details will be coming soon.

I want to welcome our newest members both individual and corporate. We encourage all of our members to interact with us should you have any questions, comments or suggestions – we are all ears and appreciate feedback. It is the constant interaction that we have with the buying and selling community which prompts many of our articles.

As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us at Steel Market Update.