Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
October 27, 2017
Steel Market Update (SMU) will begin our next flat rolled steel market trends survey at 8 AM ET tomorrow (Monday). If you receive an invitation, please take a few moments to click on the button in the message and fill out our questionnaire. Most people are able to get through the process in less than five minutes. We think this will be an important barometer to see if the price increases are taking hold, what is happening with lead times and mill negotiations, as well as how steel distributors are handling spot sales to their customers. Again, look for the invitation to participate at 8 AM ET.
A second reminder that our Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop scheduled for Mobile, Ala. on Jan. 24-25, 2018, is sold out. We are creating a waiting list, and we are hopeful we will be able to accommodate a couple of those on the list once we get closer to the workshop dates. The Mobile workshop includes a tour of the SSAB Mobile minimill.
Following Mobile, we will be traveling to Portage, Ind., to tour the NLMK USA minimill. We are working on finalizing the dates of that workshop, which will be in the month of March. After Portage, we anticipate hosting another Steel 101 workshop in May, then we are looking at one during the summer months and finally one in October.
I want to welcome a new addition to the Steel Market Update family. We have added Jill Waldman to our Events team. Jill will be working with Ray Culley and me on next year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. She will be involved first with coordinating our sponsor and exhibitor efforts. If you would like to communicate with her, she can be reached at Jill@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
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
And just like that, we’re wrapping up the last SMU newsletter of 2024. We’re closing out our 19th year and looking with wide-eyed anticipation to what 2025 will bring.
Final Thoughts
SMU looks back at stories from Decembers past, one, five, 10, and 100 years ago.
Final Thoughts
It's that time of year again. You know, that time when people wonder if those things are drones in New Jersey or if the aliens are ready to come onto the stage just in time for Inauguration Day. What will that do for steel price volatility? In any case, the SMU team finds itself in Pittsburgh this week.
Final Thoughts
The Community Chat last Wednesday with ITR economist Taylor St. Germain is worth listening to if you couldn’t tune in live. You can find the replay and Taylor’s slide deck here. You can also find SMU reporter Stephanie Ritenbaugh’s writeup of the webinar here. Taylor is Alan Beaulieu’s protégé at ITR. Many of you know Alan from his talks at SMU Steel Summit. I found Taylor’s analysis just as insightful as Alan’s.
Final Thoughts
Cracks have formed in what has been presented as the Biden administration’s united front against Nippon Steel’s play for U.S. Steel. A report from the Financial Times said parts of the administration are at odds on the deal.