Casteel Commentary One change in the North American economy that we have noted in the past is the domination of services compared to manufacturing. This affects trade policy, where gaining advantages for services in trade is a priority over products. Another distortion from an investment standpoint is the inclusion of intellectual property in the statistics …
SFSA Casteel Reporter – June 2021
Casteel Commentary Workforce Recruitment and retention will be a critical task for success for the next decade, even more than the traditional dependence on a skilled team. This month’s Casteel Commentary explores the problem and proposes directions to tackle the need we have for engaged people for our industry… Research Review Please make your plans …
SFSA Casteel Reporter – May 2021
Casteel Commentary As often discussed here, public policy in the U.S. and the rest of North America has been unsupportive of capital-intensive industries like steel foundries. We can see this in the acquisitions of steel producers including foundries by European and Asian firms. With the plentiful supply of investable capital in North America and the …
SFSA Casteel Reporter – April 2021
Casteel Commentary China poses challenges for our industry. The challenge is not that they are more efficient, more capable, or lower-cost producers. Structurally, China’s activity has been a critical support to the market prices for energy and raw materials that has supported our industry while they have made uneconomical investments in manufacturing that will lead …
SFSA Casteel Reporter – March 2021
Casteel Commentary Insanity is the only apt descriptor of our current financial environment. Federal spending, borrowing, equity prices, and interest rates are in an unsustainable place and headed away from any responsible path forward. This is not a political observation and is the result of the polarization and lack of responsible decision-making or policies by …