Pull out your favorite buzzwords from bygone eras, because the significance of what is happening in domestic U.S. steel demand right now is downright nifty, groovy, and dy-no-mite.
Steelmaking giant Nucor
Mirroring the strong sequential improvement observed by smaller scrapper Steel Dynamics
From the cavernous crater of excess capacity that sent Nucor's utilization rate to just 45% one year earlier, this important measure of relative activity bounced back to 73% for the first quarter of 2010. If we were to back out the impact of persistently weak demand for construction-related products like joists and decks -- a condition that forced Commercial Metals
South Korean steelmaker POSCO
Unfortunately, my doggedly pragmatic eyelids lack the squinting strength to block out the more foreboding image of widespread state and municipal budget shortfalls and those most threatening bullies of our economic playground: federal debt and inflation. I find tremendous relief -- and hope -- in the rapid improvements observed recently by key bellwether companies like Arch Coal
Which domestic steelmaker will you choose as your steely wager for eventual recovery in the U.S. industrial sector? Please nominate your favorite in the comments section below, and cast your official vote by joining Motley Fool CAPS and adding your pick to your CAPS portfolio.