SMU and the CRU events teams have been working for months on the 2020 version of the SMU Steel Summit Conference, and now it is time to go live. The note today should say seven days to go before the opening of the 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference, but that is not how this […]
As I look at today’s hot rolled average of $440 per ton (-$10 from last week) I feel it’s my duty to provide some context to our number. SMU captured transactions placed late last week at, or slightly below, $400 per ton for spot hot rolled. Since Monday of this week we were capturing higher […]
Four days to go… This will be our 10th SMU Steel Summit Conference. Over those 10 years the SMU team (and now CRU team) has built the most successful steel conference outside of mainland China. This year’s conference will be either the second or third most attended event we have had since the beginning. I don’t think we […]
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 […]
There are now 14 Days to go before the start of this year’s steel conference. Unlike past years we will not be in Atlanta but instead holding the conference as a virtual event. You can learn more about what that means by reviewing a recording we did a couple of weeks ago when we unveiled […]
In the SMU Community Chat webinar last week, Paul Terry of CRU and John Packard of Steel Market Update gave a live demo of the virtual event platform that will be the SMU Steel Summit 2020 Virtual Conference. If you missed the webinar, you can watch the live demo here. We explain networking, agenda, exhibition and […]
Is that the sun rising, or a speeding train…? 17 Days to Go for Start of 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference. The number of executives from manufacturing, distribution, steel mills, trading companies, toll processors, banks, trucking companies, scrap companies, paint companies and suppliers to the industry is now in the mid-600’s heading toward 700 […]
On August 24 through the 26th Steel Market Update will host our 10th SMU Steel Summit Conference. Unlike past years the conference will not be held in Atlanta but rather on our virtual platform. We have close to 650 registered executives from over 200 companies. We anticipate many more registrations in the days to come […]
In the SMU Community Chat webinar last week, Paul Terry of CRU and John Packard of Steel Market Update gave a live demo of the virtual event platform that will be the SMU Steel Summit 2020 Virtual Conference. If you missed the webinar, you can watch the live demo here. We explain networking, agenda, exhibition and […]
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 […]
As if a pandemic wasn’t enough, now I have to muddle through a tropical storm (it was a hurricane but lost some of its punch overnight on Saturday). Fortunately, Florida residents consider tropical storms as nothing more than a nuisance. I have my fingers crossed that we don’t pick up a hurricane until after our […]
I have been buried with the project of resurrecting our premiere event over the last few months. Out of the ashes of the pandemic rises the new virtual SMU Steel Summit Conference. As with any endeavor Steel Market Update tackles, this task has had some unusual challenges. As the project has gathered steam, we have found that […]
The 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference start is in 24 days (August 24-26). We are close to 600 registered attendees from 200+ companies on our way to 800+ attendees. This will be the largest virtual steel conference in North America during 2020. With 33 speakers including steel mill CEO’s, economists, analysts, steel buyers and […]
Watch the market closely. I am hearing rumors that at least one EAF mill is trying to get flat rolled numbers up. Right now, most (not all) data providers were not supportive of higher numbers. I am hearing integrated mills are not booking a lot of spot business, and thus are able to get slightly […]
SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference now has less than a month to go… (25 days). The SMU platform from which the conference will be hosted will be unveiled in a free webinar at 11 AM ET this morning. We added a couple new speakers to the 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference. I added Big […]
The official opening of the SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference is 29 days from today (Aug. 24-26). You will want to register early as we will be opening the platform during the prior week (probably Thursday and Friday) so people can get help as they practice using the platform, make appointments with other attendees and […]
The official opening of the SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference is 29 days from today (Aug. 24-26). You will want to register early as we will be opening the platform during the prior week (probably Thursday and Friday) so people can get help as they practice using the platform, make appointments with other attendees and […]
NOTE: Steel Market Update will be moving to a new Azure server tomorrow. Most of the day our website will be down as we make the transition. The website should be back up on Saturday and we intend to publish on Sunday as usual, barring any technical difficulties. We are in an interesting time for […]
We are in an interesting time for the steel industry. The pandemic is just one factor behind the stress in the market. The price increase announcements by the integrated steel mills, U.S. Steel, AK Steel and ArcelorMittal, have created another issue for steel buyers. An executive with U.S. Steel saw the slides associated with yesterday’s […]
We are seeing further erosion in flat rolled steel pricing this week with the possible exception of Galvalume. Our sources are advising that hot rolled numbers are being offered in the low $400’s for tons. As capacity reopens at integrated mills, the possibility exists for HRC prices to breach the $400 per ton level for […]
After providing Tom Cullen, CEO of Magic Coil Products, a sneak preview of the platform for the 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference he told us, “Wow! There is a lot to this.” So far, every single industry executive with whom we have shared insights into our platform (think of a platform as a special […]
The 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference promises to be much like every Steel Summit Conference: large audience, exceptional networking opportunities, strong exhibition area topped off by the strongest slate of speakers we have ever put forward. If you spend the few dollars needed to attend ($350 all in if your company is an SMU […]
The 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference promises to be much like every Steel Summit Conference: large audience, exceptional networking opportunities, strong exhibition area topped off by the strongest slate of speakers we have ever put forward. If you spend the few dollars needed to attend ($450 is full price but $350 all in if […]
The 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference is coming together very nicely. Steel Market Update and our parent company the CRU Group have been working diligently on the agenda for the 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference. We have been adding new speakers to the group we already had committed for the live event, and […]
We don’t get to choose when we were born. We don’t choose what natural disasters, epidemiological emergencies, stock market crashes, tyrannical regimes, or wars our generations face. We only get to choose how we react. (Professor Wendy Beth Hyman of Oberlin College to her students on March 11, 2020). Thank you for bearing with us […]
On Wednesday, July 1, Steel Market Update will host the next SMU Community Chat webinar. Guest speaker will be Eddie Lehner, President & CEO of Ryerson, one of the largest flat rolled and plate service centers in North America. The free webinar begins at 11 a.m. ET. Register by clicking on this link. As with […]
Today we officially took our SMU Price Momentum Indicator on hot rolled, cold rolled, and galvanized to Lower from Neutral. We are leaving Galvalume and plate at Neutral. We have seen prices slipping over the past few weeks, and we do not see any immediate signs of that trend reversing itself. There will be questions […]
On Wednesday, July 1, Steel Market Update will host the next SMU Community Chat webinar. Guest speaker will be Eddie Lehner, President & CEO of Ryerson, one of the largest flat rolled and plate service centers in North America. The free webinar begins at 11 a.m. ET. Register by clicking on this link. As with […]
This past week I unexpectantly lost someone I called a friend within the steel industry. I learned late last week that Keith Gunter, Vice President of Purchasing for McElroy Metals, lost his brief battle with cancer. He was 62 years old. Keith was one of the purchasing people I trusted to challenge me, and to […]
Work on the 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference continues as the pace quickens on the many projects needing to be completed before Aug. 24. There are now eight full weeks to go before the kick-off of the conference. We are now at 300+ registered attendees and counting. Unlike a live event, the amount of […]