Steel Products
SMU Steel Summit Conference: Tuesday Highlights
Written by John Packard
August 23, 2020
After knocking it out of the park during the first day of our conference, we are going to shift into cruise mode as we hit on the economy and the major end-use segments affecting the industry. We have two “new” mill CEO’s joining our conference for the first time. The Nucor and U.S. Steel exec’s will go one-on-one with SMU CEO John Packard.
On Tuesday the platform will begin in earnest at 9:00 AM ET.
Pre-Summit Presentation: Two Years of Digital Transformation in Two Months – How the Steel Industry is Prioritizing Technology in the Midst of a Pandemic. This will be followed by Q&A.
Conference Opens: John Packard discusses the results of the polling from Monday. In 2016 our SMU Steel Summit Conference poll correctly predicted a Trump presidency. What will this year bring?
Keynote Address: Dr. Alan Beaulieu, Managing Director, ITR Economics – We Will Survive & Prosper – Economic Forecast, followed by Q&A. One of our most popular speakers, Dr. Beaulieu will discuss the economy, where companies are in the business cycle and what they need to be doing now to prepare for 2021 and beyond.
Vignette: Leon Topalian, President & CEO, Nucor Steel. There will not be Q&A after this vignette presentation. John Packard speaks one-on-one with the new Nucor CEO.
Industry Forecasts: Automotive, Construction, Pipe & Tube/Energy. AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson along with automotive expert Stephen Brown from Fitch Ratings and Rick Preckel from Preston Pipe discuss the three major flat rolled steel-using segments of the economy and what 2021 looks like.
Fireside Chat: One-on-One with David Burritt, President & CEO, U.S. Steel. There will not be Q&A after this session. They are in a joint venture with Big River Steel and are investing heavily in new equipment. This is the first time U.S. Steel has spoken at an SMU Steel Summit Conference.
Special Presentation: U.S. Cost Dynamics and Decarbonization with Ryan Smith, CRU Steel and Cost Analyst, all the way from Australia. There will be live Q&A after this presentation. He was one of the speakers whose presentation was discussed for weeks after last year’s conference. He has some observations about the U.S. steel industry that you will want to hear.
Industry Presentation: Flat Rolled Capacity Utilization in a Post COVID-19 World. Paul Lowrey has spoken at our conference on a number of occasions and always has a perspective based on his consulting experience working with steel mills.
Keynote Presentation: Jeff Butler discusses Building an Effective Multi-Generational Workplace. There will be Q&A after this presentation. He is the first speaker in our youth program. We will have more speakers on youth topics on Wednesday afternoon.
End of Day Two
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products
CMC to open rebar fabrication facility in Ohio
Longs producer and metal recycler CMC plans to open a new rebar fabrication plant in Akron, Ohio.
US and Mexico take action to curb ‘unfair’ trade
The US and Mexico announced measures on Wednesday to prevent tariff evasion and protect North America’s steel and aluminum industries.
Final thoughts
First off, we hope everyone had a safe and happy July 4th holiday, with fireworks seen and BBQs attended. Many parts of the country are quite toasty at the moment, signaling that, yes, summer has indeed arrived. And looking at our most recent survey results, the summer doldrums have arrived as well.
Active rig counts recover in US, slip in Canada
US drill rig activity moved back up last week after drifting lower for four straight weeks. Meanwhile, Canadian counts slipped for the first time after a seven-week rally, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes.
AISI: US steel shipments up in May from April, off from 2023
Domestic steel shipments increased in May month over month but have fallen on-year.