Sep 21 2010
Majestic Steel USA Research Manager Josh Spoores will be featured on panels at two upcoming American Metal Markets conferences discussing key aspects affecting pricing trends for the steel industry.
Spoores will speak at the American Metal Markets Steel Raw Materials Strategies Conference being held Sept. 28-29 in Minneapolis. Spoores will be a part of a panel on Sept. 28 on iron ore pricing and risk management. Spoores will also speak at the American Metal Markets Scrap and Scrap Substitutes Conference being held Oct. 19-20 in Philadelphia. He will be a part of a panel on Oct. 19 providing a global steel market overview.
“It is an interesting time for the domestic and international steel markets,” said Spoores. “Steel intensive industries were leading the U.S. recovery as stimulus funds were being spent, but data indicates the recovery has slowed. We’ve seen a clear decline in housing starts and appliance shipments. In China, we are also seeing a decline in steel consumption. Meanwhile, steel inventories in the U.S. have increased for 11 straight months.”
Spoores said he believes that lower demand for raw materials will impact pricing for some commodities. Most service centers have sufficient inventories for the short term and are unlikely to increase orders, even if steel pricing declines based on lower demand.
American Metal Markets invited Spoores to speak at the conferences because he has closely watched the steel market for Majestic Steel USA for the last five years and recently launched The Spoores Report, a newsletter that monitors industry trends.
Source: http://www.majesticsteel.com/