Nucor sees sheet rise despite capacity woes

Oct 18, 2012 | 05:21 PM | Anne Riley

NEW YORK — The domestic sheet market has rebounded off its recent lows, but with underpriced imports and domestic overcapacity issues still overshadowing the market, the U.S. steel sector isn’t out of the woods just yet, Nucor Corp.’s top executives said.

The sheet market, which saw prices graze "unsuitably low levels" during the recent downcycle, has since started to inch stronger, according to Nucor president and chief operating officer John Ferriola.

"In general terms, when you look at sheet, first of all, the market was oversold," Ferriola said on the steelmaker’s third-quarter earnings call Thursday. "The inventory’s low throughout the entire supply chain on sheet, imports are down a little bit and you’re reaching the point where customers are beginning to place their first-quarter business, so we’ve seen an improvement in our backlog, our order-entry rate."....