-Thanksgiving week was not without drama as a second round of mill price increases were announced – asking prices are now approaching $700. 

-Real demand continues to appear muted.  There is also market as many buyers believe price increases are not supported by input costs – however, many buyers were caught in the bottoming out cycle and are being forced to enter orders at the mills at the new prices. 

-Iron ore was flat to down last week.  Iron ore futures portend a continued price slide.  There has been pressure on the Euro recently and prices for bands around the world have been under pressure.  If you bake in the most recent increases, bands in the USA are $100+ higher than they are in China.  Outlook for scrap in the USA is relatively flat. 

-Strong mill lead times, however, indicate that mills can maintain pricing discipline at least for the short term.  The mills have full books, so why do they need to take orders at lower prices even if input costs show that they can “afford it”?  The answer, of course, is that they can and will turn back appeals for cheaper tons.

-The European debt crisis should continue to dampen demand in the EU putting increased pressure on world exports to the United States.  Imports have largely been a non-factor for the US domestic market in recent months, but global tons needs to be consumed somewhere.  Even if imported tons don’t reach our shores in large numbers, excessive global inventory will add another layer to the price ceiling setting up in the US.