NUCOR CEO: I'm not worried about the steel market's biggest fear

pulse

April 20, 2018 6:31 PM

Steel buyers are worried about a supply shortage. Nucor, a supplier of steel, is not worried.

Some steel buyers are signing longer-term contracts with steel suppliers amid fears of a looming steel shortage.
There will not be a steel supply shortage in the US, according to
Nucor reported earnings Thursday.

Nucor CEO Jon Ferriola says he's not worried about the steel market's biggest fear — a looming supply shortage.

"There's not going to be a shortage of steel in this country," Ferriola told analysts on his company's first-quarter earnings call Thursday.

Steel buyers, according to a Morgan Stanley note out Thursday, have been entering into longer-term contracts with suppliers in order to get ahead of what they see as an upcoming supply shortage.

I can assure you there's going to be no shortage," he said Thursday. "Our customers have confidence in our ability to supply them and we won't let them down."

Ferriola did, however, note the steel market is tightening amid increased demand. He says demand is so strong that steel buyers will stomach the tariff because they simply need steel.

"If steel needs to come into the country, it will come in," he said. "People will pay the tariff and they'll bring the product in and they're going in at a fair price."

Nucor reported adjusted first-quarter earnings of $1.10 a share on revenue of $5.6 billion. Both were ahead of Wall Street estimates.

Nucor shares are down 4.63% this year.

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