NO Global Slowdown in Steel

An impending U.S. RECESSION is not negatively impacting the GLOBAL Steel market. In fact, according to the below linked Bloomberg article, it looks like the U.S. will be facing Steel Price increases this year. This piece of news should be viewed as a net positive/win for those who believe that a U.S. slowdown will NOT spill over/disrupt the growth of the entire global economy.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aCb5aP.D85ZI&refer=home

Some Quick Takeaways from the article:
*BILLIONAIRE Lakshmi Mittal (CEO of ArcelorMittal) bought Arcelor for $38.3 billion back in 2006 to boost bargaining power with customers such as Toyota Motor Corp (TM). The company (MT), which now controls about 10 percent of global steel production, became the largest steelmaker in the U.S. in April 2005 after Mittal's Ispat Inland unit bought Wilbur Ross' International Steel Group.

*ArcelorMittal (MT), the world's largest steelmaker, plans to boost prices on some contracted steel shipments in the U.S. by $250 a ton (or about 33%)

*U.S. prices for flat-rolled steel rose to $740 a ton in March from $665 a month earlier, according to Purchasing magazine...Hot-rolled coil, another key industry product may now cost a record $1,000 a ton on the spot market

*U.S. steel prices are climbing even as U.S. demand stagnates because higher prices in other regions and a weak dollar are attracting the exports usually destined for North America.

*The U.S. needs to import steel because domestic producers make only about 100 million tons a year while the nation uses about 130 million tons.

Data Courtesy: Bloomberg.com, snagged on 4/16/08.