Steel Summit 2024: Six degrees of Nucor's Dan Needham

Integrity, honesty, trust, open communication, and teamwork, these are just some of the hallmarks driving Nucor’s culture. Right up there with those is also safety.

“And that’s our most important thing, safety, and how we approach that and drive safe processes in everything we do,” Needham said.

In a wide-ranging talk, Needham spoke extensively with Bell about Nucor’s weekly Consumer Spot Price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil, introduced in April.

Nucor CSP origin, reaction

Needham said if you’re in the flat-rolled business, you understand the word “volatility” very well.

He noted that the velocity of that volatility in pricing has seemed to increase in the last few years.

Thinking about the underlying forces behind that, “we believe that it’s really a disconnect between underlying demand and order practices,” Needham said.

“And so we introduced the CSP several months ago to provide real-time, relevant, transparent pricing signals to our customers around hot-rolled coils,” he added.

Regarding how the price is faring so far, Needham commented, “I think it’s still too early.”

“I think most of our customers understand why we’re doing it, but they’re waiting to see is it going to work,” he said. “And I think we’re in the same boat there.”

CSP nuts and bolts

Needham said what determines the CSP is market dynamics, and that means evaluating key market indicators.

“So that’s going to be customer inventories, it’s going to be order books, it’s going to be import activity, and then also feedback from our customers,” Needham said. “So all of those things are considerations.”

He stressed that “it’s not just about emotions or what we think it is, there’s underlying data behind it.”

“And we’re partnering with our customers to think about: How does that help impact this volatility?” Needham said.

Six degrees…

Bell asked Needham how Leon Topalian, chair, president, and Nucor CEO, was able to select such a widely respected leadership team in the industry.

Needham said it comes down to being given “a common mission and a common vision” of where they are going as a company.

Whether it’s investing in cutting-edge, nuclear technology, data systems, or in garage door firms, the common vision gives “the opportunity to execute together as a team.”

Speaking to that, the company now has 32,000 employees, which it terms “teammates.”

“With the low turnover, we grow up together, we’re brothers, we’re sisters, we’re family,” Needham said.

Some may remember the pop culture idea of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” where you try to connect any actor to fellow thespian Kevin Bacon in the shortest number possible.

Needham quipped that he was at a meeting a few years ago with a number of other Nucor employees.

Looking around, he realized that he knew everyone in the room, “and probably most of them I had worked with somewhere on my journey.”

Recounting this to someone else at the meeting, the other employee turned to him and said, “You’re like Kevin Bacon.”