Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
November 3, 2017
Some quick final thoughts this evening – I will be traveling tomorrow (Monday) to Chicago to attend FABTECH and to teach a mini-version of our Steel 101 workshop (they call it Steel 101: Mill to Fabricator) on Tuesday afternoon. John Eckstein and I will be in Room 502B in McCormick Place, and the workshop is from 1:30 until 3:30 PM. The workshop is free to those registered to attend FABTECH.
Tim Triplett will be at FABTECH on Monday, so if you see him wandering the halls, take a moment to say hello.
If you are going to be at FABTECH on Tuesday and would like to spend a moment chatting with me, the best thing to do is to send me either a text (770-596-6268) or an email John@SteelMarketUpdate.com to see what my schedule looks like.
We should have our final dates set for our next Steel 101 workshop, which will be held in the Chicago area as we are touring the NLMK Portage, Ind., facility as part of the workshop. The workshop will be in March of next year.
Another quick reminder to put our 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference on your calendars and company budgets. The conference will be held on Aug. 27, 28 and 29 at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) where we have been for the past four years.
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.