With steel equities in the United States down 20 to 25 percent from this year's peaks, the question investors are asking is whether it's cyclical or seasonal—"it" being (a) the decline in the global metals economy, (b) the decline in steel stocks, (c) the decline in scrap prices or (d) the general malaise of the summer market in steel.

In my inaugural column last summer, I offered my thoughts on a number of issues in the sector and my outlook. One of the points I made was the concept of a "Plan B." I said that "managements should 'date' business plans, not wed them; environments change rapidly and the most flexible win. 'It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change'," I said, quoting Charles Darwin.

We are faced today with seemingly endless calamity and global meltdown. A year into the credit market debacle, I see increasing skepticism about the durability of the five-year-old commodities boom. I don't buy it, being a great believer in the middle-classification of China and other developing...