Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Written by John Packard


It’s a beautiful day here in Minnesota, and here I am looking out the window at a wonderful lake. Yet, I’m working all day. Oh well…

We did a quick analysis of the attendees registered for our conference. I thought potential attendees might be interested in what was discovered:

44% – Manufacturing Companies
35% – Service Centers/Distributors
3% – Steel Mills
2% – Trading Companies
2% – Financial Analysts
1% – Toll Processors
1% – Consulting Firms
1% – Investment Funds
1% – Suppliers to the Industry
10% – Other

Current registrations are over 790 executives and we should exceed 800 by Wednesday or Thursday of this week. The next number “in play” is 850, and we will see if we are able to sell that many seats.

If you would like to register, you can do so online: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel-Summit or you are welcome to contact our office at 772-932-7538. You can add more people to an existing registration at 772-932-7538.

So there is no confusion: Who should attend our SMU Steel 201: Introduction to Advanced High Strength and Other New Steels Workshop? You. We are designing this course for those who have limited experience to those who may be the president and CEO of a company. This workshop will be a rare opportunity to tour two key mill facilities: the AK Steel Research and Innovation Center, where new steels are developed and tested, as well as the AK Steel Middletown fully integrated steel mill. The dates are Sept. 11-12 and you can register online at: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel-201

I am in Minnesota for a portion of this week as I am a new member of the Board of Trustees for Hamline University, which is the college I graduated from many moons ago. It had been some time since I was last on campus and the university has doubled in size and the process of educating young men and women has changed. I am trying to get a better sense of what that means and how I can be of help to the university over the next four years.

One interesting tidbit from my visit to Hamline University is the fraternity house that I lived in during most of my time there. It is now the Center for Creative Writing Programs. I found that a bit ironic.

Besides our workshops and conference, Steel Market Update is adding new Premium and Executive level newsletter members every month. I want to welcome you to SMU and I want to encourage you to interact with us, which you can do by contacting us at: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. We are always looking for new ideas, critiques of our content and suggestions for articles.

As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.

John Packard, President & CEO

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Final Thoughts

President Donald Trump on Sunday hammered Colombia with 25% tariffs and threatened to increase them to 50%. Trump in a post on Truth Social said he took the action not because of a trade dispute but because the South American nation had refused to accept planes carrying deported immigrants. The president also cited "national security" concerns, just as he did to justify 25% Section 232 tariffs on steel in his first term. Even the 50% threat echoes his first term. Turkish steel, like that of most nations, was assessed a 25% tariff in March 2018. Trump doubled Turkey's tariff to 50% via a tweet in August of that year over a matter unrelated to steel.