Steel Products
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/media/k2/items/src/e83683d7b88a467d86319aa79fbe2021.jpg)
SMU Steel Summit Conference: Eight Weeks to Go!
Written by John Packard
June 26, 2022
We are now eight weeks away from the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Behind the scenes, there are dozens of SMU and CRU team members working diligently to ensure this year’s conference is exceptional for all our attendees. By exceptional, we mean entertaining content that is valuable and timely. And we also provide the best networking environment possible.
We are pushing through 800 executives already registered for this year’s conference. Over the past few days the following companies have come on board (those with an * means more than one company attending): AGI – Sentinel, AMICO Global, Astec Industries*, BNSF Railway*, Butech Bliss*, General Motors, Janus International Group LLC, Majestic Steel*, Metal Master*, Metrading International AG, NSPS Metals, PACO Steel & Engineering Corp.*, Steel Spectrum, StoneX Financial Inc., Trane Technologies*, Wastequip LLC. You can join them and the almost 300 other companies already registered by clicking here.
Every conference is a labor of love as we try to balance presenters who have spoken at our conference in the past with new faces and topics. There are issues of primary importance to our attendees: steel price forecasts, supply and demand outlooks, and major economic and political issues that industry participants need to understand. It’s comforting to have some familiar faces we have developed relationships with and that our attendees have learned to trust and respect over the years:
• Dr. Alan Beaulieu, president and principal of ITR Economics
• Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs
• Mark Millett, co-founder, president and CEO of Steel Dynamics
• Josh Spoores, principal analyst at CRU
• Timna Tanners, managing director of equity research at Wolfe Research LLC
• John Anton, director of pricing and purchasing at S&P Global Market Intelligence
• Paul Lowrey, founder and managing director of Steel Research Associates
Those are just a few of the regular names. We have also added many new faces to the program this year.
• Alan Kestenbaum, executive chairman and CEO of Stelco
• Gene Marks, the author of many books on business, a columnist, a keynote speaker, and the head of The Marks Group
• Johnny Sjöström, EVP and head of Special Steels at SSAB
• Pam Heglund, president of Mill Steel Co.
• Michael Setterdahl, who is representing the GFG Alliance
• David Branscome, global partner solutions security architect at Microsoft
• Jerry Richardson, executive director at CSN LLC
• Pablo Koziner, president of energy and commercial Nikola Motor Co.
• Murat Askin, founder and CEO of StaalX
• Frank Frederickson, vice president of customer experience at Minnesota Power
• Stephen Weng, head of automotive benchmarking at A2Mac1
• Panos Kotseras, principal analyst at CRU
• Matthew Poole, associate managing consultant at CRU
• Bradley Clark, director of the Metal Bank at Flack Global Metals
• Meredith Meade, Nafta Steel Purchasing Manager at Tempel Steel Co.
• J. Benjamin Snyder, founder of J. Benjamin Recruitment LLC
• Eric Daniel, director – supply chain – carbon flat products at NIM Group
• Ping Liang, lead strategy analyst and economist at ArcelorMittal
• Ciara Brunch of Reibus International
• Colin Sterling of Quality Metal Stamping
• Tommy Hosea, executive director of GPSC Central Operations at General Motors
Some of the key topics we will discuss at the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference are the war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions, decarbonization, and new supply coming online.
Other items include changes in the trucking industry with the introduction of fuel-cell, electric semi-trucks and self-driving technology. Those technologies will impact the trucking industry in both the short- and long-term. We’ll also discuss the expansion of the electric automotive fleet and its impact on the steel industry (as well as other metals).
Decarbonization and climate change are subjects that impact virtually every corner of the industry in different ways. We are bookending this year’s conference with a decarbonization workshop on Monday morning and another decarb program early on Wednesday afternoon.
As always, there will be something for everyone. If you would like to learn more about our agenda, speakers, the NexGen Leadership Award and the nomination process, companies attending, costs to attend, and how to register you can find that information here: https://events.crugroup.com/smusteelsummit/home
By John Packard, John@SteelMarketUpdate.com
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/john-packard.png)
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/CMC-New-Logo.png)
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.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/steel_trade.png)
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.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/gears.png)
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.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Rig_count_pic_3-scaled.jpg)
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.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/AISI.png)
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.