Hi,
In this market boom, I’ve been wondering about the current component shortage, which will inevitably affect the productivity of many industries. When you add the rising prices of steel and other raw materials, how will this “chorus” play out?
Already, there are rumors from the US that investors are shifting their investments as steel prices have gone through the roof (sheets over 2x and HRC 3x) compared to autumn 2020 prices. Things are not much better in Europe (sheets and HRC ~2x).
I’ve been wondering how these issues have been accounted for in future forecasts and do companies have hedges against these increases? I haven’t personally seen a forecast yet that mentions steel price development or hedges.
To this, one could also add the insane price increase in freight from China to Europe and the US caused by the container shortage.
I’d be interested to hear your opinions. I myself am already more cautious when evaluating industries whose products contain a lot of steel and components.