Despite vigorous competition from overseas markets and other basic materials, demand for North American-made steel may be set for an increase in 2016 and 2017, according to several speakers at the 2016 Platts Steel Markets North America Conference, which took place in Chicago in mid-March. Good news for domestic steel demand should invariably lead to better news for ferrous scrap prices.
In the automotive sector, vehicle sales figures are at an all-time peak. “Current conditions for U.S. auto demand are as good as it gets,” said Richard Hilgert, an equity analyst with Chicago-based Morningstar. He cited low interest rates and a low unemployment figure as helping lead to the positive market conditions.
The “long, slow recovery” in the U.S. economy means those sales figures “should be bouncing along near the peak for a few years,” Hilgert added. Business cycle and demographic reasons, however, mean Morningstar has its forecast for vehicle sales “tailing off in 2018 and beyond.”
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