In this special Cup o’ Joe detour, Jim Reed, Brian Crane, Nick Webb and Mike Carrozzo trade metal market insights for tasting notes and share what’s currently in their glasses—or on their bourbon wish lists.

From Eagle Rare and Weller 107 to Angel’s Envy, Old Elk, Bardstown and a few lesser-known finds, the group swaps recommendations, talks favorites and proves that sometimes the best part of a market discussion has absolutely nothing to do with the market.

Consider it your Cup o’ Joe bourbon break.

In this macro-economic update, Nick Webb looks beyond individual metal prices to examine the economic signals shaping the market. From manufacturing activity and business investment to the massive buildout in data centers and AI infrastructure, he breaks down where demand is coming from—and why the outlook may be stronger than some of the headlines suggest.

It’s a big-picture look at the forces influencing manufacturing, metal demand and the market heading into 2027.

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Nick breaks down the latest moves across the major metals markets, including copper near record highs, continued volatility around aluminum tariffs and Midwest Premiums, a relatively stable nickel market and another move higher in carbon steel pricing.

The team also looks at why steel futures have repeatedly underestimated the strength of the current rally and how supply constraints are influencing imports.

It’s a fast-moving look at the pricing trends and market forces metal buyers should be watching.

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In this episode Mike and Nick are joined by Ryerson metal pros Jim Reed and Brian Crane. The grpup looks ahead to 2027 contract season and break down what buyers are facing across stainless, aluminum, carbon steel and plate.

From increasingly tight heat-treated aluminum and carbon plate markets to reduced imports, lean inventories and strong demand from aerospace, defense, semiconductor, space and data centers, competition for available metal is growing.

The team also discusses what buyers can do now to prepare—including communicating expected volumes, grades, sizes, project timing, processing needs and other requirements earlier.

Whether you buy under a contract or transactionally, the message is the same: the more your supplier knows about what you’ll need and when you’ll need it, the better positioned they’ll be to help secure your metal.

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In this episode of Cup O’ Joe, Mike and Nick look at what the rapid buildout of AI infrastructure and data centers means for the metals supply chain. These projects can require huge quantities of steel, aluminum, stainless and copper—and that demand can emerge quickly, creating challenges for availability and sourcing.

The conversation explores how hyperscale data center investment is becoming a meaningful new source of metals demand, why the size and speed of these projects can catch the supply chain off guard, and what happens when that demand collides with markets that are already tight.

In this episode:

• Just how much metal goes into building data centers
• Why AI infrastructure is creating new demand for steel, aluminum, stainless and copper
• How massive projects can seemingly appear overnight and disrupt availability
• Why the metals supply chain may struggle to respond quickly to new AI-driven demand
• What the continued data center buildout could mean for metals buyers

The bottom line: The infrastructure behind AI is physical—and building it requires a lot of metal. As investment accelerates, data centers are becoming a demand force the metals industry can’t ignore.

Where was your aluminum made? It sounds like a simple question—but the answer depends on what you mean by “made.”

In this episode of Cup O’ Joe, Angie Gomez joins Mike and Nick to break down the important differences between where aluminum is smelted, melted and manufactured—and why those distinctions are becoming increasingly important for metals buyers.

The conversation follows aluminum from raw material to finished product and explains why a product manufactured domestically may still contain aluminum that was originally smelted somewhere else. With tariffs, trade policy and sourcing requirements putting greater scrutiny on metal origin, knowing where material comes from—and being able to trace it through the supply chain—matters more than ever.

Angie also discusses the challenges created by limited domestic primary aluminum production and why buyers serving government, defense and other origin-sensitive applications need to pay particularly close attention to documentation and traceability.

The bottom line: “Made in the USA” doesn’t necessarily tell you where the metal began its journey. Understanding the difference between melt, smelt and manufacture can be critical when sourcing aluminum in today’s market.

Scrap prices have historically been one of the key signals for where steel prices are headed. But right now, that relationship isn’t behaving the way many buyers would expect.

In this episode of Cup O’ Joe, Mike and Nick dig into the new math behind steel pricing. While scrap has remained relatively stable, finished steel prices continue to move higher as tariffs, tight domestic supply and limited mill availability exert more influence on the market.

The conversation explores why the traditional correlation between scrap and steel has weakened, how tariffs may be creating a new floor under domestic pricing, and why some mills are limiting—or even declining to quote—new spot business.

Mike and Nick also look at the contrast between carbon steel and stainless, where market conditions remain comparatively balanced.

The big question: If scrap is no longer driving the market the way it once did, what should steel buyers be watching instead?

Manufacturing indicators are showing signs of strength—but is AI making the picture look better than it really is?

In this episode Mike and Nick look beneath the headline manufacturing numbers and examine the outsized role AI and data center investment is playing in the economy.

With billions pouring into AI infrastructure and hyperscale data centers, capital spending is booming in one corner of the market. Outside of AI, however, the picture is considerably softer. So how much of today’s manufacturing momentum is being driven by a concentrated wave of AI investment—and what happens if that spending slows?

Mike and Nick discuss the disconnect between AI-related and non-AI capital spending, what current manufacturing indicators are really telling us, and why the unprecedented data center buildout could be obscuring weakness elsewhere in the industrial economy.

Could the future of USMCA keep steel and aluminum tariffs in place? In this excerpt from Cup o' Joe, Nick Webb discusses the latest trade developments, what they could mean for metal pricing, and why buyers should pay attention to what's happening next.

Copper, nickel, stainless steel, and audience questions wrap up this month's Cup O' Joe. Nick and Mike discuss what's happening across several key commodity markets, answer viewer questions, and share what they're watching as the metals market heads into the second half of 2026.

From copper demand and nickel pricing to stainless trends and the broader manufacturing outlook, this episode covers the topics every industrial buyer should keep an eye on.

Topics covered:

•  Copper 
•  Nickel 
•  Stainless steel 
•  Manufacturing 
•  Metals outlook 
•  Audience Q&A