While certainly real, that's anecdotal and does not accurately represent the overall situation, that's what the data is for. As a counter-example, there are "now hiring" signs going up, if not already up, on nearly every vendor's and customer's website in my supply chain.
seems like a poor time to elect slash and burn austerity republicans if you are concerned about the steel industry. do you connect the dots before making an election decision?
FWIW, and not trying to just beat the drum, my main new venture over here in Europe received some stacked up orders dating back about 30 days. This is for electronic devices, but may reflect some positive feelings going forward. With all the bad news about Europe, I'm hoping that my timing will work out. Mixed feelings about buying bottoms, they sometimes turn out to not be bottoms at all.