Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
October 3, 2018
I am back in the office, at least for a few days, trying to catch up on paperwork that has been piling up, as well as working on our SMU Service Center Inventories report. I hope to have our “Flash” report out on Sunday. The “Flash” report gives a snapshot of how the data is looking based on about 50 percent of those registered to participate in our inventories survey. We have decided that the “Flash” report will be shared only with those who are sharing their data with us. If your service center would like to participate, with the understanding that all information is never shared and will be kept strictly confidential, please contact me personally.
I can be reached at 800-432-3475 or by email at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Our December Steel 101 workshop has only a few seats left before it will need to be sold out (www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel101). I know from my conversations with companies who attended the CRU North American Steel Conference that there is a lot of interest in our workshop. If your company is thinking about attending, and you have some questions, please reach out to us at: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com and we will do our best to respond to your queries.
After the Toledo (December) Steel 101 workshop, our next one will be in Columbus, Miss., and will include a tour of the Steel Dynamics Columbus steel mill. I believe we will get an extra treat and tour their new paint line, as well as the hot end and rolling mills. The dates on this conference are Feb. 26-27, 2019. Once the Toledo workshop is officially sold out, we will open registration for this workshop.
I am looking at adding workshops in March, May and one during the summer, as well as one in October 2019. Please stay tuned for those announcements.
I was asked if Steel Market Update ever conducts workshops at a customer’s facility. The answer is yes. We have done private custom workshops on a variety of subjects from sales, customer service, and steel making to how to better understand the markets. Custom workshops are designed with your team, aimed at the goals you provide. Instructors will vary depending on subject matter and your budget. You can contact me for more information.
We expect to open sponsorship registration for the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference within the next couple of weeks. We will be going out to those who participated this year as we believe in rewarding those who have supported our growth. If your company has an interest in becoming a sponsor, please contact Jill Waldman at Jill@SteelMarketUpdate.com
I have already begun to put the program together for the 2019 conference. I invited a mill CEO to sit with me one-on-one and to discuss their multi-faceted business. Other pieces of the puzzle are in discussions. Our goal for 2019 is to break the 1,000-attendee mark, and the only way we can do that is to provide a program that was better than what we did earlier this year.
Late next week I will be in Minnesota for my first full blown Board of Trustee meeting at Hamline University (where I went to college). I still wonder why they picked someone who had a 1.6 GPA at the end of his freshman year to be on the board…
On the 18th of October, I will be speaking at the Cincinnati/Kentucky Chapter of the AWMI. Since they are giving me an hour to speak, I am going to do something new along with talking about Section 232, imports, Sentiment, inventories and such. If you want information about this dinner, please contact Andrea Penrod at APenrod@GeneralCable.com
The following week, I will be in Texas speaking to two packaging associations, and then two weeks after that I will be in Texas again for the HARDI annual conference…
However, for the next few working days I will be in my office. Let me know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions and I will do my best to answer them.
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us here at Steel Market Update.
John Packard, President & CEO
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
SMU's hot-rolled (HR) coil price slipped this week to $685 per short ton (st) on average. We also adjusted our sheet momentum indicators to lower for the first time since July.
Final Thoughts
When a mapmaker constructs a map, it’s always to the contours of the land. Or sea. That is, the mapmaker doesn’t say, “Look, these rocks really don’t belong here, so I’m not going to include them in the harbor map.” Uncharted rocks, sink ships (along with loose lips).
Final Thoughts
We had an October surprise here at SMU on Wednesday. I was working from the CRU office in Pittsburgh, and the internet connection briefly went out. As luck would have it, that happened smack in the middle of a live Community Chat webinar. Fortunately, my colleague David Schollaert stepped in, Zekelman Industries CEO Barry Zekelman rolled with the punches – and the show went on. Could there be any more October surprises in store for us and for the steel market?
Final Thoughts
We just wrapped up another Steel 101 workshop, easily the most hands-on industry workshop on steelmaking and market fundamentals, in this humble opinion. Last week on Tuesday and Wednesday, SMU’s Steel 101 was held in Starkville, Miss.
Final Thoughts
Everybody has an opinion about politics these days. More importantly for our readers, though, every business has a bottom line. A popular question in our most recent steel buyers survey asked how uncertainty around the upcoming US presidential election could affect that line.