Final Thoughts
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Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
August 7, 2020
Last week we conducted one of our flat rolled and plate steel market trends analyses. Some of the information gathered was shared in Thursday’s and again in tonight’s issue (see above). However, we share in our newsletter only a small fraction of the information that is being collected. Our data providers and Premium members can access a PowerPoint presentation that puts a large portion of the data into historical perspective. That information is available online now.
We have an excellent economist speaking this Wednesday at 11 AM ET as part of the SMU Community Chat series of free webinars. Tim Gill, Chief Economist for the American Iron and Steel Institute, will join us to discuss how he is seeing the economy and the steel industry. You can register for the webinar by clicking here or going to www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/blog/smu-community-chat-webinars
14 Days to Go…
We are busy preparing for the 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference. We have already begun the recording process for some of the “on-demand” presentations, and we are working on the lobby video, our introduction videos and with many of the speakers’ presentations. The program looks strong, and we are looking forward to rolling out our first virtual Steel Summit Conference.
When I last checked we had 24 nominees for this year’s SMU NexGen Leadership Award. Each of the nominees will receive a free pass to this year’s conference. Nominations are now closed. The judges and I will be reviewing the nominations over the next couple of weeks and we will announce the winner during the conference. A special thank you to the Steel Manufacturers Association for their support of this award.
We had 128 new registrations for the conference last week. Here are just some of the companies who registered: Batesville Casket Company, Larson Manufacturing Company, Conklin Metal Industries, Black Rock Metals, CARMEUSE Europe, Bank of America, PGT Trucking and Steel Dynamics who registered 15 of their executives. You can register by clicking here.
I want to recognize our sponsors without which our ticket prices would have been much higher than the $450 (no discounts) price ($350 for SMU/CRU member companies who register more than one person). If you would like more information about registration, please visit www.smusteelsummit.com or contact us at Events@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Our platinum sponsor is Red Bud Industries. Our Gold Sponsors are Mill Steel, Bank of America, Crowe, Big River Steel, Heidtman Steel, Reibus and Kenwal. Our Silver Sponsors are Nucor, CME Group, Steel Manufacturers Association, Fifth Third Bank, Felux and BMO. Our Bronze Sponsors are MidWest Materials, Alliance Steel, Ratner Steel Supply Company, Acero Prime, Magic Coil Products and Paragon Steel. We also want to recognize the following supporting companies: Metal Center News, Modern Metals, FF Journal, Fabricators and Manufacturers Association and Fitch Ratings.
This will be another busy week for the steel industry. We are still waiting to see if any of the EAF or conversion mills make a public move to take spot prices higher. SMU will be reaching out to a select group of steel buyers to get their opinions early this week, and we will be reporting on the results in Tuesday evening’s newsletter.
For those of you who are interested in learning more about upgrading, adding more employees or becoming a subscriber to the Steel Market Update newsletter, please contact Paige Mayhair at 724-720-1012. She can also be reached at Paige@SteelMarketUpdate.com
I can be reached at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, President & CEO
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John Packard
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Final thoughts
Sheet prices didn’t roar back after Labor Day. But steel market news sure came out of the gate strong (or maybe chaotically is the better way to put it). First, the nearly $15-billion proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel exploded into the news. And when I say exploded, I mean that all sides seem to be escalating things now.
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Final thoughts
Welcome back from Labor Day, from Steel Summit, and from whatever fun you might have had over the long weekend. Personally, I enjoyed camping with friends and family near Starved Rock. No one starved, there were no major injuries, and we enjoyed the many splendors of Mystical Fire. (Speaking of which, does that have industrial uses? But I digress.)
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Final thoughts
I want to say a huge ‘thank you’ from all of us at SMU to all of you (more than 1,500!) who attended Steel Summit this year. We appreciate you taking time out of busy schedules to join us – whether that was up on stage, submitting thoughtful questions, or catching up over a drink and bite to eat. Also, a bit shoutout to everyone at SMU and at CRU who made this event possible. It’s no understatement to say that we have a fantastic team.
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Final thoughts
Day one and two of SMU's Steel Summit 2024 are officially in the books. We covered a lot of ground, and the agenda sure did deliver.
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Final thoughts
The big show is just about here. SMU Steel Summit will be getting underway on Monday. Where does the networking begin? I’d say at the airport. So don’t forget your business cards. And it can't hurt to wear a company golf shirt.