Final Thoughts
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Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
June 22, 2018
As of Monday, every registration we receive for this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference will result in a new record for our conference. Our goal is 800 and we are only 150 people away from achieving it with 63 days to go…
The extreme travel is upon Diana and myself as we leave for the airport at 4 a.m. on Monday making our way to New York City. I will be at the CRU Steel Briefing at the Westin Time Square Hotel from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. I will then host the Bank of America Merrill Lynch dinner starting at 5:30 p.m. until we get thrown out of the restaurant…
On Tuesday, I am booked with appointments from breakfast through 2 p.m. when Diana and I will leave for the airport for our flight to London to visit the CRU Group headquarters for the first time. I will be in meetings in London on Wednesday through Friday before taking a couple of days of sightseeing (our first trip to London). We will return to our offices here in the states on Tuesday, July 3.
Technically, our offices will be closed on Tuesday, July 3 and Wednesday, July 4, in observance of the Fourth of July. We will publish our pricing indices on Thursday, July 5, instead of our normal Tuesday due to the holiday.
To complicate matters a bit, Brett Linton’s wife is due to have her first child – today… So, we expect that while we are gone Brett’s wife will find time to deliver a baby girl and grow the SMU family.
Tim Triplett (630-234-6688) and Alison LaLonde (772-932-7538) will be covering the SMU phones should Brett be unavailable.
I will be checking emails: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com and will be available by text and phone should I be needed. Just remember, there is a five hour time difference between London and the East Coast USA.
I am looking forward to seeing everyone in New York City and in London.
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, President & CEO
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John Packard
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Final thoughts
SMU has heard from some larger buyers who have stepped back into the market to buy at prices that, if not at a bottom, they assess to be close to one. Is it enough to stretch out lead times and send prices upward again? Or do we continue to scrape along the mid-$600s per short ton (st) as we have been doing for most of the last month?
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/gears.png)
Final thoughts
Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves had some insightful things to say today about the steel market and about a conference we suspect might be Steel Summit.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/gears.png)
Final thoughts
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, when you add in some commentary from respected peers in the steel industry to those pictures, that may shoot you up to five thousand words, at least. In that spirit, we’ve added some snapshots from our market survey this week, along with some comments from market participants.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/gears.png)
Final thoughts
I thought we’d have more clarity this week on Section 232, Mexico, and a potential carve-out for steel melted and poured in Brazil. As of right now, the only official comment I have is from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/SMU-Steel-Summit.png)
Final thoughts
There are just 40 days left until the 2024 SMU Steel Summit gets underway on Aug. 26 at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) in Atlanta. And I’m pleased to announce that it's official now: More than 1,000 people have registered to at attend! Another big development: The desktop version of the networking app for the event has officially launched!