It’s been a “green” Monday, and everything seems to be moving up across the board—at least for now. Not huge gains, but definitely some positive movement, especially with copper. We’re starting to regain a bit of what was lost last week, though we’re still down from where we were.
Copper saw a slight bounce today, which is good news. Will it keep going? That remains to be seen, but today was definitely a step in the right direction. On the ferrous markets side, things aren’t as bad as we initially thought last week. There were some pretty grim predictions floating around, like prices dropping 40 or even 60 points, but none of that has materialized yet. Instead, things are down only slightly, closer to five bucks, depending on the mill and the region.
Mill closures in the Midwest are playing a role, as Chad and I discussed on Bulls vs. Bears. But despite this, the supply of material remains low, especially on the manufacturing side. The export market could influence things, too, particularly if Turkey continues its upward trend. This could keep mills from dropping prices too much, especially in the Southeast and on the East Coast.
We’ve also got a debate this week, but it’s hard to say if it’ll impact the market significantly. Barring something extreme, like an assassination, I don’t think it will sway things too much. Most people have already made up their minds about the candidates, so I doubt there’ll be any surprises.
In the long term, I’m focused on how we can position ourselves for future opportunities, whether it’s in 2025 or 2030. Elections, wars, and global events will always present both challenges and opportunities. Some of our best moves as a company have come during downturns, so we’re always looking at the bigger picture beyond the day-to-day market shifts.
For now, I’m hopeful that copper stays above $4. It was at $4.14 earlier today, which is a decent spot. If it can move back into the $4.20s or $4.30s, even better. But even staying above $4 is a good place to be.
At the end of the day, it’s all about relationships—with suppliers, consumers, and maintaining a quality product. That’s what will help us navigate through any market conditions, no matter how tough things get.
Switching gears a bit—football. We had some live football action over the weekend with the NFL back in full swing. Unfortunately, for me as a Notre Dame fan, it wasn’t great. We lost to the 105th ranked team in the nation at home during the opener, and I’ve been telling my wife for 20 years that “this is our year.” Well, after that performance, we now need to win out, and even then, I’m not sure it’ll be enough.
On the bright side, there was some good football over the weekend. Boise State put up a fight, even though they lost. So, there’s still plenty of excitement ahead.
We’ll be back next week with more updates. In the meantime, go out there and make things happen! Thanks for tuning in.