Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
August 16, 2019
As mentioned above, it is crunch time for me and my team as we prepare for the conference, now one week away.
I want to emphasize SMU will have a major announcement at the conference on Monday as we roll out our Service Center Inventories on Hand, on Order, Shipments and an analysis of what we believe the numbers mean for service centers, and for prices going forward. I have been working on this project for more than two years, and it is one of the reasons why I agreed to sell the company a little more than one year ago. I believe this data will become a standard for the industry to relate in the months and years ahead. There will be more information provided at the conference on Monday shortly after 1 PM.
It’s funny how trade, indexes, new mill capacities and politics as well as the economy are all at the forefront of people’s minds as we prepare for 2020. Our conference will touch these items in detail.
Our first SMU NexGen Leadership Award will be presented on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at the SMU Steel Summit Conference….
You can read more about the conference in the article I wrote for this evening’s newsletter (see above).
Our Oct. 8-9 Steel 101 workshop has maybe one, at most two, seats available. Registration is now on an “inquire only” basis. Please send an email to Events@SteelMarketUpdate.com if you, or a member of your company, is interested in attending the Cincinnati workshop, which will include a tour of Nucor Gallatin’s electric arc steel mill.
After the October Steel 101 workshop, the next one will be held in Ontario, Calif., on Jan. 7-8, 2020, and will include a tour of the California Steel Industries slab conversion mill, and if time permits their pipe and tube mill. I believe we will start taking registrations for this workshop within the next week or two (depending on how buried we get with the SMU Steel Summit Conference).
Now is an excellent time to upgrade your account. By this, I mean going from Executive to Premium membership (the Service Center Inventory data will be going to Premium subscribers beginning in September). You can also upgrade by going to one of our Regional or Global subscription plans, which allow unlimited members from your company to read SMU. For more information, contact Paige Mayhair at 724-720-1012 or by email at: Paige@SteelMarketUpdate.com
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.