Final Thoughts
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Final Thoughts
Written by John Packard
February 13, 2022
Michael Cowden and I will be joining more than 400 executives from steel mills, trading companies, manufacturing, distribution, logistics, as well as various warehouses and ports this week in Tampa. On Monday afternoon, we will begin the networking portion of the Tampa Steel Conference, now celebrating its 33rd year.
There is still time to register, which you can do by clicking here, or you can register at the door of the event.
We are looking forward to an expanded program, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. For those attending, please note that our Trading Panel is being moved from Wednesday afternoon to the end of the day on Tuesday. The cocktail party will begin at 5:15 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. The conference is now scheduled to end by 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
In the morning on Tuesday, we will host a sold-out golf outing, and there will be a second tour of the port facilities.
We are also holding a meeting of the NexGen Youth Steering Committee as we look to form an organization focused on young people associated with the steel industry (mills, distribution, manufacturing, logistics, etc.). You will be hearing much more about the organization in the weeks ahead as the group comes together and moves forward.
Spencer Johnson of StoneX Financial will conduct our first in-person Introduction to Steel Hedging Workshop at the Marriott Water Street Hotel on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. You can still register by clicking here.
The SMU and CRU events teams look forward to working with Port Tampa Bay in this our first in-person Tampa Steel Conference since we partnered with them last year. Over time, we anticipate the TSC will be the perfect bookend to the SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be held on Aug. 22-24 this year.
Speaking of the SMU Steel Summit Conference, we have already begun taking registrations and are already approaching 100 registrants. We are working diligently on the program as we strive to conduct the best networking, most entertaining and most informative conference experience possible. Our goal for 2022 is to exceed 1,200 executives from throughout the steel supply chain. All of the decision-makers will be there. You can secure your place and be able to access our room block (all of the hotels will be sold out) at one of the four Marriott properties next to the Georgia International Convention Center by registering now. You can register by clicking here or going to: https://events.crugroup.com/smusteelsummit/home
As always, your business is truly appreciated by all of us associated with Steel Market Update.
John Packard
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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!