Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Written by John Packard


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.

Tampa.Steel.Conference

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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Final thoughts

What's the tea in the steel industry this week? Here's the latest SMU gossip column! Just kidding... kind of. Yes, some of the comments we receive in our weekly flat-rolled market steel buyers' survey are honestly too much to put into print. Some make us laugh. Some make us cringe. Some are cryptic. Most are serious. We appreciate them all. Below are some highlights from our survey results this week. Some of the comments that we can share with you are also included, in italics, in the buyers' own words, with minimal editing on our part.