Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
August 22, 2014
OMG – It is the last full week before our Steel Summit Conference. Our days (and nights) are cram packed as we work with our speakers to provide their power point presentations, answer any questions that they may have and make sure that as many as possible will be staying for our networking/cocktail party on Wednesday evening (sponsored by Pacesetter Steel Service, Inc.).
You can tell it has been a little crazy around here. In Thursday evening’s Final Thoughts I kept giving the wrong dates for the conference. No, it didn’t already happen during the month of August. The dates are Wednesday, September 3 and Thursday, September 4, 2014.
Early this week we will send out an email to all of the attendees going over the logistics, program, dress code, how to get to the hotel and convention center and anything else we can think of that might be deemed important. The vast majority of attendees are arriving on Tuesday, so I think the Marriott bar will be the place to be on Tuesday evening.
We will have a registration desk set up at the Marriott from approximately 4 PM ET to 6 PM ET on Tuesday. On Wednesday the registration will take place at the south entrance (closest to the hotel) in the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC).
We are now expecting close to 180 people to attend our conference. We will try to update the website on Monday so you can get a feel for how many companies are represented. If you wish to attend, we are still taking registrations which can be done online or through our office: 800-432-3475.
I want to welcome a last minute sponsor: Steel Warehouse of Alabama.
A note that iron ore spot prices in China have been dropping again recently. 62% Fe is close to $90 per dry metric ton.
Now that the OCTG case has finally been resolved and six of the nine countries named have been hit with duties, is flat rolled steel next? One of the attorneys who will be speaking on the subject mentioned to me late last week that the mills have until the end of September to file or they have to start all over again. The rumor mill has been pointing to late this week or perhaps on September 2nd (which would be convenient for our Steel Summit Conference). However, we have heard rumors about Chinese cold rolled and coated products from China, Taiwan, India and South Korea for about a year now. So nothing is engraved in stone.
Speaking of registrations, don’t forget that our Steel 101: Introduction to Steelmaking & Market Fundamentals workshop is also available online. The next workshop is October 7 & 8 in Fort Wayne, Indiana and will include a tour of the Steel Dynamics Butler, Indiana facility. Details can be found on our website or you can speak to the instructors at our Steel Summit Conference.
A note about our publication schedule due to the upcoming Labor Day Holiday and our Steel Summit Conference. We will publish this week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings as normal. We will not publish our newsletter on Sunday, August 31st. We will publish on Tuesday, September 2nd and we will not publish (unless it is a brief issue) on Thursday, September 4th. Back to our normal schedule on Sunday, September 7th.
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update. Please tell your steel friends, customers and suppliers about us.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Some of you have told me that the current market feels about as crazy as early 2021 when demand snapped back after the initial outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Others have said it might be more like late February/early March 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine – and, in the process, caused […]
Final Thoughts
To say we’ve entered a “Brave New World” since Jan. 20 might be an exaggeration, but we’ve definitely entered a different one.
Final Thoughts
I think it’s fair to say that the last few weeks – and last week especially – have been among the most intense for any of us covering steel (or aluminum).
Final Thoughts
A look at how SMU survey respondents are reacting to President Trump's recent actions on tariffs.
Final Thoughts
A lot of the changes basically entail rolling back what I’ll call, for fun, Section 232 Lite. S232 Lite resulted from watering down what I’ll call OG S232 – the one first imposed in March 2018 - with exemptions and exclusions over the years. Now, OG Section 232, is back with its across-the-board 25% tariffs against everyone.