Steel Products

First Steel 101 Workshop of 2019 – Columbus, Miss., with Tour of SDI
Written by John Packard
October 24, 2018
Registration is now open for the first Steel 101 workshop of the New Year (2019).
The first Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop in the New Year will be held in Starkville, Miss., on Jan. 29-30, 2019. This workshop will be special as we will be touring the SDI Columbus EAF steel mill. Over the past couple of years, SDI has invested in this mill adding Galvalume and a prepaint line to complement the flat rolled steel products that were already being produced there.
We are making a couple of adjustments to our instructors as Steve Painter has decided to retire from our workshop. His energy and enthusiasm will be sorely missed. Filling Steve’s shoes will be Roger Walburn of NLMK USA.
So far, we have had more than 580 people go through our Steel 101 workshop. We are running into prior workshop students around the industry as many of them have been getting promoted and are participating in other conferences and workshops SMU is attending.
Earlier today, SMU President & CEO John Packard was speaking to the RIPA/IPANA annual meeting in Houston. One of the questions posed to him concerned the quality of cold rolled and whether cold rolled produced from a hot band was better quality than cold rolled which was not. The answer to the question is all cold rolled comes from hot rolled substrate. The real issue on his mind was the inconsistency of cold rolled used to make barrels. Specifically, when older barrels are in the process of being reconditioned, why do some fail the testing? The answer to that question has to do with where the cold rolled substrate came from for the original barrel. Was it produced to a specific spec or did the substrate that was used have a different chemistry, which impacts the reconditioning process? We also learned that the reconditioned barrels were being heated to 1,200 degrees, which can change the grain structure and the way the steel will perform.
Bottom line – the individual asking the question would have a better understanding of the relationship between heat and the quality of the finished steel if he had attended one of our Steel 101 workshops.
We are looking forward to working with SDI Columbus and we know this will be an excellent workshop for you, or your people, to attend. You can find more information on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel101

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products

CRU: US rebar and wire rod prices rise alongside S232 increase
CRU Senior Steel Analyst Alexandra Anderson discusses current market and pricing dynamics for long steel products in the US.
CRU: Excessive global supply could hit rebar mill investments in US
Following the onset of the war in Ukraine in March 2022, concerns about import availability and expectations of rising demand from President Biden’s Infrastructure Bill pushed US rebar prices to record highs. In response, a flurry of new mills and capacity expansions were announced to meet the rise in demand from growth in the construction […]

Steel buyer spirits tempered by soft spot market conditions
Steel sheet buyers report feeling bogged down by the ongoing stresses of stagnant demand, news fatigue, tariff negotiations or implementation timelines, and persistent macroeconomic uncertainty.

CRU: US stainless prices to rise on expanded S232 tariffs
Stainless prices in the US market will rise, following price increases by major US producers. Our base case scenario incorporates higher US prices in the near term, despite the initial negative reaction by the market. US stainless prices will go up in 2025 H2 and will stay elevated in 2026 as tariffs on stainless […]

Galvanized steel demand unsteady amid lingering buyer fatigue: HARDI
Uneven demand for galvanized steel in June reflects a market that remains mired in uncertainty, according to industry sources.