The company says the drop is due to “margin compression” that is the result of a mid-quarter drop in the market for flat-rolled steel while raw materials prices did not experience a concomitant decrease. This represents a sharp turnaround for Steel Dynamics, which had posted a much better-than-expected EPS return in the fourth quarter.
Iron ore prices have been drifting higher as demand picks up from China, but steel prices have been held down by an over-supply that steel makers are still trying to come to grips with.
Paul Ausick
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