Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
February 22, 2016
We have been hard at work on our 2016 Steel Summit Conference. There is no doubt in my mind that this will be the best conference program we have ever assembled and one of the finest networking opportunities for those involved in the steel industry. I want everyone to know that I am open to suggestions on what you would like to see (example: stronger speaker on world steel market – we are working on that). Please let me know what you liked, who you liked from past years. If there is someone out there you have heard speak in the past and you think they would be a good fit for our conference please let me know: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com
We picked up another keynote speaker today as we received a commitment from Chris Oakley, Vice President of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank. The Federal Reserve Bank has promised us that our attendees will not be disappointed with Mr. Oakley. He joins other presenters which include Mark Millett, President & CEO of Steel Dynamics; Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President & CEO of Cliffs Natural Resources; Dr. Alan Beaulieu, Institute for Trend Research, Timna Tanners, Metals & Mining Analyst, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Lawrence Kavanagh, President, SMDI and many more. We hope to have another announcement of a major steel figure joining our group later this week.
Save the dates: August 29, 30, 31st as we host our 6th Steel Summit Conference. Location: Georgia International Convention Center, Atlanta, Georgia. Host hotel: Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway Hotel.
We are also planning on hosting a one day Managing Price Risk workshop following the conference (September 1st). More details on that to follow.
As always your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, Publisher
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Can technology help with pig iron and DRI/HBI tariffs?
Final Thoughts
Tariff-related noise aside, there is one basic factor keeping buyers on the sidelines. Despite recent declines, HR prices remain at historically high levels. And there is no obvious support to keep them there.
Final Thoughts
United Airlines raised eyebrows earlier this month when it provided two forecasts for 2025 – one assuming a relatively stable economy and another assuming a recession. The reason? Uncertainty around the impact of President Trump’s policy shocks on the broader economy. And it sometimes feels like we’re seeing a battle between those two narratives (stable vs recession) play out within in the pages of this newsletter.
Final Thoughts
Despite some scary headlines lately (especially about Trump potentially firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell) this is not October 2008 (financial crisis) or March 2020 (onset of the pandemic). But it sure seems like we’ve taken a relatively strong economy and poured a thick sauce of uncertainty over it.
Final Thoughts
I put some of our survey data through ChatGpt, with interesting results.