Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
March 21, 2014
I want to take a moment to thank the Association of Steel Distributors (ASD) and their new organization president, Brian Robbins, for the opportunity to speak to the organization at their annual meeting held in Orlando over the past few days. The conference covered a wide variety of topics including the award for Steel Man of the Year which was presented to James Barnett of Grand Steel Products in Michigan.
To our Premium Level members – the SMU Steel Survey results are on the website in the Premium only section under the Analysis tab. Premium Level members also received a special Premium supplement newsletter late last week as well.
A reminder that registration for our Steel 101: Introduction to Steelmaking & Market Fundamentals workshop is still open. Information about the program, pricing and registration can be found on the SMU website or you can contact our office for details or with any questions you might have. We can be reached at: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by phone: 800-432-3475.
I will be traveling again this week as I go through Detroit and Toronto. I will be speaking to the Toronto Steel Buyers and Associates group on Wednesday (cold weather or no cold weather). I look forward to seeing all of our Toronto friends.
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
It’s once again A Tale of Two Cities in the steel market. Some are almost euphoric about Trump’s victory. Others, some rather bearish, are more focused on the day-to-day market between now and Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
Final Thoughts
One of the perhaps unintentional perks of being a trade journalist is the opportunity to travel and cover an array of industry conferences and events. Some I've attended have been at fun locations, like Palm Springs and Tampa, Fla. Others have been in more practical locations, like SMU’s Steel Summit in Atlanta and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) meetings in Washington, D.C.
Final Thoughts
t this point in the game I think what we can say about Nippon Steel’s proposed buy of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel is that it will go through, it won’t go through, or the outcome will be something new and completely unexpected. Then again, I’m probably still missing a few options.
Final Thoughts
President-elect Donald Trump continues to send shockwaves through the political establishment (again). And steel markets and ferrous scrap markets continue to be, well, anything but shocking. As the French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote in 1849, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." (I thought the quote might have been Yankees catcher Yogi Berra in 1949. Google taught me something new today.)
Final Thoughts
President-elect Donald Trump will officially retake the White House on Jan. 20. I’ve been getting questions about how his administration’s policies might reshape the steel industry and domestic manufacturing. I covered the tumult and norm busting of Trump's first term: Section 232, Section 301, USMCA - and that's just on the trade policy side of things. It's safe to say that we'll have no shortage of news in 2025 when it comes to trade and tariffs.