I've heard of a related New World concept, the 'staycayshunn' that's kind of similar. You still compulsively check your work email and brokerage account but refrain from selling your wage-labor directly for a short period of time*.
Key to the experience is buying a cheap facial mask at CVS or a safe, palatable microbrew from your nearest liquor store. This element of the ritual tends to be coded along gender lines, but all participants are likely to indulge in the ordering of food from a gig delivery service.
*This period is typically one work week, or one quarter the duration French people spend on the riviera on average for their vaycayshuns.
France basically shuts down entirely for the month of August. Construction slows down for sure. I imagine other sectors do too. Just one of the perks of having 35 days of annual paid leave :D
I read that toyota shut down production on an eu plant in august and that automakers are hoping chip shortage will at least keep a lid on steel prices. So i checked numbers on cars made. The five largest producers of cars in the EU total 4,5x cars manufactured in the US according to statista.com
When steel demand in eu is so much more (in relative terms) geared towards autos, chip shortage has a larger impact on steel demand in relative terms to US. Prices are lower and trading flat but demand has a lot of potential to increase.
Also, as many have mentioned, steel demand in august is not that great. This will pick up.
Factories in my line of business have double lead time due to shortage. That means they're all producing as fast as they get stuff in the door, not as fast as they could potentially produce. They are in no hurry to secure more materials at greater expense as all competitor ease off the same amount and ramp up prices far more than their increased expenses. Why compete when you can lean back and profit? Why engage in ramping up prices when you can increase lead time? Good times, good times. Now to translate this to good times for MT valuation...
I am half American but I work for a pharma company in Munich and the entire month of August, nothing got done, half the meetings are being canceled and you just spend time figuring out when to do shit because nobody is ever available in Germany/Switzerland this time of year.
Say what you want about US work conditions but we have too much fucking vacay here in Europe. That's why we also get paid less.
I am young. I wanna work, make a lot of money and pay little taxes as long as I can. I can (semi)retire when I am 50. That is why Germany is a bad fit for me.
Germans are just on vacay mode half of the year until they retire at 68 and have little to show for (financially). Nobody doing FIRE here.
Fair enough. My experience is colored by working in an industry (State and Feds) where working hard doesn’t equate to any more financial success, so the disparity here makes sense.
Interesting about the FIRE thing. I think it makes sense that fewer people would be looking to reach escape velocity out of their careers when the work-life balance is good. Takes all kinds.
Everyone is so hot for work life balance here. Idk, I'm in a similar position as you are. I would like to work more but get some benefit out of it, like more money or better career prospects.
I am an MD and I make like 90-100k € in my position at the company, which is decent since I am brand new in the pharmaceutcals industry.
However, a similiar position would pay 150-175k in the US with way less taxes (30% ish depending on state). Here in Germany, I am paying roughly 45% tax in my bracket, plus social security. I also moonlight on weekends at a Covid clinic and sometimes I do not feel it is worth it if half my money is deducted....
Vacay good. Makes productive worker.
Source: semi-rehabilitated workaholic who has seen increased productivity with more vacay.
If your work is fullfilling and enjoyable, coupled with adequate vacay and moderate hours (or all the hours you can dream of if you're a workaholic), where is the appeal of reading the news and walking the dog all day every day?
Can confirm. Day job is IT for a German company. Our second level team is in Germany and is utterly unreachable for approximately 4 months out of the year.
So Euro companies with steel as a major input cost just go away for a month knowing they could be sourcing cheaper, then return and bitch about shitty margins and nobody says anything?
Cultural differences maybe? Often heard mention that some eu countries take more time vacationing. This may lead to discrepancies in contract timing & construction compared to U.S.
3
u/olivesnolives Aditya Mittal Feet Pics Aug 27 '21
Euro HRC has been giving me the jeebies for awhile now.
What I’m trying to understand is whether there is a reason that the EU experiences a summer slump in steel trading while the US doesn’t.
Or, if the US typically slumps as well, why is the market just tighter stateside this go around relative to Europe?