Stainless sheet, bar & plate

摘要

"Please switch your cell phones off requested Barry Gledhill, president of Samuel Specialty Metals and moderator of the stainless sheet, bar and plate breakout, "as there are no orders in the stainless steel industry." His quip may be less applicable heading into the first quarter of 2004. "Infrastructure spending will increase and rebuilding will be steel-intensive," said James M. Banker, Jr., s ice president of sales and marketing for AK Steel Corp., with prices holding at 0.45 dollars/lb. for 2004. The recent Northeast blackout may spark an upgrade in electric power distribution and generation, potential good news for electric steels. And, Banker said, economic recovery may be sufficient to trigger industrial upgrade and maintenance spending, along with a general increase in capital spending.