Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
November 1, 2017
Another reminder that mill metallurgist and Steel 101 instructor John Eckstein and I will be in Chicago next week for FABTECH 2017. We will be conducting a mini-version of our Steel 101 workshop during the expo. Our workshop will be held in the McCormick Place Convention Center in room 502 B on Tuesday, Nov. 7, from 1:30 PM until 3:30 PM. There is no cost to attend the event (I assume you have to be registered for FABTECH). If you have an interest in having some of your employees attend one of our two-day Steel 101 workshops around the country and you want to get a feel for a piece of the program, come join us in Chicago.
If you would like to register for FABTECH, here is a link to their registration page.
Our January Steel 101 workshop in Mobile, Ala., is currently sold out and we have a short wait-list. The next workshop will be in March in the Chicago area, and we will be touring the NLMK Portage, Ind., minimill. We have also received a couple of invitations from service centers to add a tour of one of their facilities as part of the March workshop. We will advise soon if we can work it into our schedule and what facility it will be.
We have already sold about 30 percent of the available sponsor spots for the 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center on Aug. 27, 28 & 29. Clear your calendars and add our conference to your 2018 budgets as we expect another record crowd and another dynamite program. More details will be coming soon about the conference. In the meantime, to become a sponsor or an exhibitor (or both), please contact Jill Waldman at Jill@SteelMarketUpdate.com or Ray.Culley@SteelMarketUpdate.com or myself at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
It won’t be long before we open registration for next year’s event….
By the way, on Monday, Steel Market Update will open up advertising space for 2018 newsletters and the website. For more details and pricing options, please contact Brett Linton at Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com or you can call him at 706-216-2140.
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
Cliffs came tantalizing close to buying U.S. Steel in 2023. There were rumors in 2024 that Cliffs might buy NLMK USA before it ultimately purchased Stelco for $2.5 billion in November of last year. Who would have thought that asset sales would have been the focal point of discussion just six months later?

Final Thoughts
Given the news about tariffs and bringing back industries to the US, a brief look back in time may show how our economy changes with technological advances and the shifting economies of scale.

Final Thoughts
We’ve talked about tariffs ad nauseam for much of the year. And I’m afraid this topic isn’t going away anytime soon. There’s a feeling that the tariff “can” will just be kicked down the road again and again, and again.

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.