Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
October 2, 2017
I am in Fort Wayne, Ind., along with members of my Steel 101 team, John Eckstein, Mario Briccetti, Steve Murphy, Steve Painter, Sandy Williams, as well as Tim Triplett who will be attending his first Steel 101 workshop. Over the next two days, we will be working with a large class of attendees and discussing the steel making and rolling process. We will also discuss how steel is bought and sold and some of the factors that are key to supply and demand, as well as costs.
I want to take a moment to thank Charlie Trowbridge and all of the management and employees at Steel Dynamics (SDI) as we will be touring their steel mill on Thursday morning. Later in the morning, we will tour the Paragon Steel service center operation, which is located on the campus of SDI. I want to thank Pete Henry for the invitation to tour their facility and for working with SMU to ensure that our Steel 101 attendees get the most out of our program.
For those who attended this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference at the end of August, you are well aware of our manufacturing panel and the spirited dialogue between Barry Zekelman (CEO of Zekelman Industries) and Daniel Pearson of the Cato Institute. Shortly after participating in our panel, Mr. Zekelman was interviewed on camera and had some interesting things to say about Section 232. I think it is important for the industry to understand that the Section 232 investigation is not done and there could still well be significant ramifications come early 2018. Listen to what Barry had to say about Section 232:
Our next SMU Steel Summit Conference will be held Aug. 27-29, 2018. We will be at the Georgia International Convention Center (same as this year) where we will be occupying an even larger chunk of the facility. We are preparing for all of you to come to Atlanta in 2018. Don’t forget to put our conference in your budget. If you came this year, please try to bring someone new with you next year.
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Will a US-UK meeting next week prove a harbinger of tariff deals to come, or will it be just another case of having the rug pulled from under us?
Final Thoughts
When will we see prime scrap become scarce as the worldwide transition to EAF melting increases, especially for HRC production? It's a question I've been asked a lot.
Final Thoughts: The hidden cost of analysis paralysis in the age of uncertainty
With US economic indicators all over the map, it’s no wonder the steel market has experienced a whole lot of analysis paralysis this year.
Final Thoughts
A recurring theme in conversations with some of you and in the comments submitted in our surveys is concerns about demand and uncertainty around tariffs. Where does SMU’s latest opinion polling on President Trump’s tariffs stand? Let’s take a look at the numbers.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been getting some calls lately from some of you who want to kick around ideas on where prices might bottom and when.