03-14-2025
To the loyal customers of Kimmel Scrap:
Ever have those days where you are not sure what to tackle first. My schedule is usually straight forward. Look at my mail, email, meet with our team and review the prior days activities, review today’s schedule. One thing I don’t usually need to ask, did the scrap market settle for the month?
For the first time I can remember we have not had a commitment from either steel mills or foundries by the 13th of the month. To put this in perspective we are buying and shipping scrap metal by truck and rail without a definitive price. Our relationships with both are strong, but no one really knows what to expect with the threatened tariffs on both steel and aluminum. I receive updates from our trade association in Washington D.C. The information is helpful although the changes and speed of making some news dated.
We all feel the tension of uncertainty in both manufacturing as well as agriculture and transportation. Everyone seems to have a view of how increased tariffs will make domestic manufactured products more competitive or raise prices on raw materials. The one thing we know is Wall Street does not like uncertainty as is reflected in stock market indices of the last few weeks. Here at Kimmel, we continue to monitor the news and act accordingly to make the best decisions based on market conditions.
Wishing everyone a prosperous and healthy spring.
Sincerely,
Robert
