The dragon is on the way
I’m sat in my office writing this December editorial for Stainless Steel World. It’s traditionally the time of year that I take as a watershed, to look back and reflect on the previous twelve months and evaluate what has happened, and at the same time look ahead to the future. This year I am just amazed at how quickly the time has flown by.
When I was a child, I can vividly remember how a week could seem to last an eternity and the concept of something like a month was completely unfathomable. Now, whole weeks just seem to melt away before me though when I take assessment, I realize what an awful lot has taken place and been accomplished in their fleeting time-span.
My partner tells me that this speeding up of time has got something to do with getting older, though I’m not sure that I want to go down that pathway. I put it down to the fact that we live in very global and dynamic times in which changes occur at an ever increasing rate. Even in the relatively smaller cosmos of the Stainless Steel World, the scheme of things moves along super fast with developments and changes quickly following one another. Like many of you I find that this keeps me constantly interested and on my toes. Never a dull moment, we would say.
So getting back to this year and what it has held for us. Certainly when considering the global business situation the words “turbulent”, “volatile”, and “uncertain” come to mind. For many stainless steel companies it has been a difficult year, and will continue to be so for some time ahead. This malaise is not just applicable to stainless steel industries but is also affecting a vast cross section of commercial and public sectors at the moment as much of the world’s economy fails to pull itself back from the brink of recession. Coupled to this, we have the current situation with the Euro where it is difficult to predict what the consequences will be of the inadequacy of some European countries to tackle their debt problems and how this will further affect not only the European Community and European Monetary Funds as a whole but also the wider repercussions to the world economy. Other events that have had an important impact on our lives this year have been the devastation of the tsunami off the coast of Japan and the subsequent nuclear explosion at Fukushima, which has had major consequences on how governmental bodies and electorates now look at the nuclear power industry. Also, the uprisings of the Arabian Spring, starting off in Tunisia and spreading throughout most of the Middle East countries, could have political and economical effects that are only now just beginning to become apparent.
2011 has also seen a tightening up and heating up of the whole discussion concerning anti-dumping legislation in North America and Europe, where mainly Asian countries are seen as introducing products – mainly tubular and pipe steel products – onto these markets at prices that cannot be explained through normal market competition. The Europeans and North Americans claim it is being used to force domestic suppliers out of business, their Asiatic counterparts claiming that selective protectionism is being introduced. Whatever the rights and wrongs, feelings continue to run high on the topic.
It seems a worrying summary at a first round up, so is there light at the end of the tunnel? Many economists are in great disagreement as to the possible outcome, and predicting the future at present seems more than ever like crystal-ball gazing, which is why I close by turning to my own predictions. 2012 will take us into the Year of the Dragon according to Chinese traditions. It is the ultimate auspicious symbol of all Chinese zodiac signs and signifies success, prosperity, and happiness. We hope and wish this for all of you and your businesses for the coming year.
Best regards,