Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
April 2, 2019
We stuck in a couple of Premium level articles in tonight’s issue to give our Executive members an opportunity to review the level of detail we put into Premium products. With our new pricing we have exceptional membership levels on both Premium and Executive products, especially for those of you who would like to share our information with others within your company (both domestically and abroad). You can find out more about Premium memberships as well as the new pricing levels we have for both Premium and Executive by contacting Paige Mayhair at 724-720-1012 or by email: Paige@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Registrations continue to grow for the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be held on August 26-28, 2019. In the past 24 hours we added the following companies (those with an * means more than one person will be attending): North Star BlueScope Coated Products North America, Stelco*, Walker Magnetics, Leggett & Platt, Hannibal Industries and LB Steel. We continue to be on pace to meet our 1,000-person goal for this year’s conference. I hope to see you in Atlanta. P.S. Please make sure to make your hotel arrangements as soon as possible as we do anticipate that we will sell out the Gateway hotels (those right next to the convention center). We have made arrangements at another hotel, which will be offered after the Gateway hotel room blocks are booked. For more information (including links to hotels), go to www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/events/steel-summit
There is an article about our Steel 101 workshop in tonight’s issue. Even so, I want to highly recommend that you consider signing up your employees for this workshop – especially if you are located in the Upper Midwest, Chicago area (you can drive and I am not sure when we will be close to Chicago again), or if your company is focused on plate steels (since SSAB is a plate mill). To register or find more information, go to www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/events/steel101
I don’t know if I mentioned that one of the results of my visit to Ternium in Monterrey, Mexico, a couple of weeks ago was the confirmation that Cesar Jimenez, CEO of Ternium Mexico, will participate in our mill panel on new capacity on Tuesday, Aug. 27. This will be a dynamic panel with Mark Millett, CEO Steel Dynamics, John Hritz, CEO JSW USA and Ladd Hall, Executive Vice President, Flat Rolled for Nucor all joining Mr. Jimenez to talk about the what, when and why’s associated with their various projects. While I was in Monterrey I got to see an impressive construction site that will begin producing steel products by the end of the second quarter (pre-painted first) and into 2020. I will moderate this panel in what I think will be a mutually beneficial format for the mills and our attendees. At any SMU conference, we strive to be low on fluff and long on content. To register for the conference, click here.
Also, note that there is a CRU event on aluminum coming up at the tail of our conference. They will be hosting the CRU Aluminum Summit Conference on Aug. 28-29 at the Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway Hotel located next to the Georgia International Convention Center and next to the Atlanta Airport. This event is separate from our SMU Steel Summit Conference. You can find more information about this CRU Aluminum Summit event by clicking here.
The CRU Group will also host a free steel briefing for CRU and SMU customers and potential customers in New York City on Monday, June 17. You can register for the free briefing by clicking on this link. If you have questions you can view the article written in Sunday’s issue of SMU or call my office at 800-432-3475.
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, President & CEO
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.