Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
March 18, 2019
On my way back to the USA following a good meeting with the folks at Ternium in Mexico. More to follow later.
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Companies are beginning to register for our next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop, which will be held in Davenport, Iowa, on May 14-15, with the kind cooperation of SSAB Americas. The classroom sessions on the making and marketing of steel products will be complemented by a tour of the SSAB mill. For anyone who has never seen a steel mill in operation, this will be an unforgettable experience.
It’s not too early to begin making plans for the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference, to be held Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. This year the conference will begin with a Price Risk Management Workshop hosted by the CME Group beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 26 in the Marriott hotel next to the Georgia International Convention Center, which will host the rest of the conference. To learn more and to register, go to: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel-Summit
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John Packard, President & CEO
John Packard
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Final Thoughts
When a mapmaker constructs a map, it’s always to the contours of the land. Or sea. That is, the mapmaker doesn’t say, “Look, these rocks really don’t belong here, so I’m not going to include them in the harbor map.” Uncharted rocks, sink ships (along with loose lips).
Final Thoughts
We had an October surprise here at SMU on Wednesday. I was working from the CRU office in Pittsburgh, and the internet connection briefly went out. As luck would have it, that happened smack in the middle of a live Community Chat webinar. Fortunately, my colleague David Schollaert stepped in, Zekelman Industries CEO Barry Zekelman rolled with the punches – and the show went on. Could there be any more October surprises in store for us and for the steel market?
Final Thoughts
We just wrapped up another Steel 101 workshop, easily the most hands-on industry workshop on steelmaking and market fundamentals, in this humble opinion. Last week on Tuesday and Wednesday, SMU’s Steel 101 was held in Starkville, Miss.
Final Thoughts
Everybody has an opinion about politics these days. More importantly for our readers, though, every business has a bottom line. A popular question in our most recent steel buyers survey asked how uncertainty around the upcoming US presidential election could affect that line.
Final Thoughts
I’m trying to make sure this is not a TL;DR Final Thoughts. As a journalism school professor once told me, ‘No one but your mom reads more than 1,000 words.’ Also, as the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand as well. With that in mind, below are a couple of charts that I think go a long way toward explaining how prices and lead times have been relatively stable despite concerns about demand.