MAY 2016 STEEL BULLETIN
May 31, 2016
Prices: Prices, since our last steel bulletin in February have seen a dramatic turnaround. A sudden decline in output from China and the imposition of import duties saw a dramatic increase in the price of steel. Scrap went up by $160 virtually overnight in Turkey and this saw prices, especially for hollow sections, jump by about £120/t. Other products have followed, fuelled by the fact that generally stocks were low and stockholders throughout Europe were rebuilding inventories. Merchant bars and heavy sections have now increased by a similar amount adding 40% to steel costs. Our outsale prices will follow although there was a reluctance at the outset to believe what was really happening. Prices will continue to rise in the short term. For up to date information please give us a call on 01845 528200.
Supply: The sudden increase in prices has impacted on mill rollings as everyone tries to book steel at prices to beat the further increases that are expected. Mills are now full until August but will still be having their annual closures, so there is little availability before September. We are expecting shortages on certain sizes and we would advise caution to all our customers when quoting forward.
Tomrods Ltd: Despite the above Tomrods has healthy stock levels assisted by our sister company All Steels Trading. We will endeavour to service our existing customers in our normal way but prices will have to increase to match the new cost of stock.
THE GREAT KNARESBOROUGH BED RACE 2016: We are once again competing in The Great Knaresborough Bed Race raising money for Open Arms Malawi, more details can be found in our website www.tomrods.co.uk and all contributions are very welcome please visit www.justgiving.com/tomrods.
Thank you for reading this and if you have any comments about Tomrods Ltd or our website please e-mail the undersigned at johnt@tomrods.co.uk.
John Thompson
MANAGING DIRECTOR