Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
August 3, 2020
Steel Market Update is celebrating our 12th birthday. I started the SMU publication officially in August 2008. Prior to that I had been giving it away to my former customers and friends within the industry. I knew at the time that the industry needed a publication coming from an industry perspective as opposed to a journalism perspective. SMU succeeded because I knew what questions to ask buyers and sellers, and due to my experience selling steel I was able to sort out the self-serving data providers from those who were interested in a more transparent market.
I surrounded myself with people who did not (and do not) mind working hard, learning new things and who compliment my talents.
Twelve years later it still works. SMU continues to grow, we continue to come up with new products and ways of looking at business. Our brand is respected by the steel community and we appreciate our customers and do everything possible to provide the best information so those within the industry who have to make decisions are better able to do so.
I made a similar decision when I started the SMU Steel Summit Conference. We started small, riding on the coattails of Metalcon. Our first conference was in Las Vegas. We charged $100 per head, and had slightly more than 100 executuves, The formula worked, and we continued to grow from there.
I made the decision to put down roots for the conference about six years ago. I selected the Georgia International Convention Center because it made sense for active industry executives who were tired of being used and abused by high hotel rates, multiple airports, expensive cab rides and inferior programs. The GICC, located next to the Atlanta airport, was the perfect location. If not for the pandemic, this year’s event, which is our 10th, would be at the GICC instead of being virtual.
But this is the year of the pandemic, and we roll with the punches. You will now be able to interact and appreciate our program from the comfort of your office or home office (or even sitting outside by the pool).
I have spoken to almost every speaker, we are working with the events team in London, our platform has been built, the exhibition booths are being stocked and we are getting very close to being able to launch this year’s event. The program is going to be exceptional. We are going to cover a wide variety of subjects. There will be many forecasts (economic, political and steel related).
We have moved through 600 registered attendees on our way to (we hope) 800+ executives.
Nominations for the SMU NexGen Leadership Award are due tomorrow, August 5th You can nominate someone (including yourself) and learn more about the nomination process by clicking here. All qualified nominees will receive a free pass to this year’s conference.
You can learn more about our platform and how networking and interacting with our agenda will work by viewing last week’s SMU Community Chat webinar. You can view the recording by clicking here or going to www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/blog/smu-community-chat-webinars and click on last week’s recording.
Most importantly, if you want to join everyone at this year’s event, you can do that by clicking here or going to www.smusteelsummit.com or by sending an email to Events@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
It’s once again A Tale of Two Cities in the steel market. Some are almost euphoric about Trump’s victory. Others, some rather bearish, are more focused on the day-to-day market between now and Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
Final Thoughts
One of the perhaps unintentional perks of being a trade journalist is the opportunity to travel and cover an array of industry conferences and events. Some I've attended have been at fun locations, like Palm Springs and Tampa, Fla. Others have been in more practical locations, like SMU’s Steel Summit in Atlanta and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) meetings in Washington, D.C.
Final Thoughts
t this point in the game I think what we can say about Nippon Steel’s proposed buy of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel is that it will go through, it won’t go through, or the outcome will be something new and completely unexpected. Then again, I’m probably still missing a few options.
Final Thoughts
President-elect Donald Trump continues to send shockwaves through the political establishment (again). And steel markets and ferrous scrap markets continue to be, well, anything but shocking. As the French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote in 1849, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." (I thought the quote might have been Yankees catcher Yogi Berra in 1949. Google taught me something new today.)
Final Thoughts
President-elect Donald Trump will officially retake the White House on Jan. 20. I’ve been getting questions about how his administration’s policies might reshape the steel industry and domestic manufacturing. I covered the tumult and norm busting of Trump's first term: Section 232, Section 301, USMCA - and that's just on the trade policy side of things. It's safe to say that we'll have no shortage of news in 2025 when it comes to trade and tariffs.