Nucor is one of the better run companies in the USA, over the years. Specializing in hot rolled steel and other steel products produced using mini-mills, it has established itself as the most efficient steel producer in the country.
Recently, its CEO Daniel R. DiMicco, gave his frank assessment of the U.S. market conditions at the American Metal Market's Steel Survival Strategies conference. It is an excellent read. Some points that he makes: (excerpted from the AP report)
- He dismissed recent price increases as nothing more than a bump from falling inventories and suggested steel makers face as many as six more years in the doldrums.
- "We are in for a prolonged and slow recovery. Make no mistake about it. You best be prepared for it if you're going to be a survivor."
- "Green shoots? You don't know if those green shoots are poison ivy or corn," DiMicco said.
- "This will be the longest jobless recovery in U.S. history ... the granddaddy of all jobless recoveries. I'm afraid we are 'plateaued' out."
- Given the long-term nature of a global economic crisis, one that DiMicco said has left the U.S. with a real jobless rate of about 16 percent, steel makers must address the core problem of overcapacity.
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