North American service centre chain Russel Metals believes the steel markets may have already witnessed a bottoming in demand, Kallanish learns from the company’s first-quarter conference call. 

Despite volumes being off by about -30% from last year in Q1, activity early in Q2 seems to be improving, says ceo John Reid. 

“And the nice thing we're seeing now is our service centers initially picked up in Canada first, and now we're seeing it in the US...where our billing is starting to be outpaced by our bookings, so our bookings are higher. And so that's a very positive sign for us.”

Even the energy market, which suffered the twin hammers of Covid-19 and historically low oil prices, seems poised for a turnaround due to the so-called spring break-up, Reid says. The break-up is a seasonal pause in Canadian hydrocarbon production when spring weather makes oilfield terrain excessively muddy and difficult to use. This year’s breakup will put a further halt to production and allow oilfield producers to more effectively plan their upcoming project schedules, Reid says. 

“So, we feel like we've seen the bottoming,” he says. “And as we have the restrictions on working lifted and people are starting to return to work, we think that obviously will be a positive impact for demand.”