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Article: All's positive for plate: with demand and prices holding steady at a high level, the carbon plate market is paying dividends--and attracting attention from foreign investors.(PLATE MARKET)
- Article from:
- Metal Center News
- Article date:
- August 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Sackett Business Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THOUGH PRICES HAVE SOFTENED slightly in the last few months, carbon plate remains one of steel's strongest markets, and should remain so, experts say, as long as the U.S. and world economies stay relatively healthy.
Demand for plate is second only to activity in the red-hot beam market, says Christopher Plummer, managing director of Metal Strategies Inc., West Chester, Pa., noting that the two are related as they both serve the heavy end of steel applications. Apparent consumption of plate, as well as beams, is reaching levels not seen since the early 1970s.
John Anton, director of the steel service at Global Insight, Washington, D.C., contends that ...