SMU Community Chat
Join SMU for a Community Chat With Barry Zekelman Next Wednesday!
Written by Michael Cowden
May 21, 2025
Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, will be the featured guest on our next Community Chat on Wednesday, May 28, at 11 a.m. ET.
You can register here. The webinar is free. A recording will be available only to SMU members.
Zekelman is known for his straight talk. And his company is one of the largest steel buyers in North America. So he’s got a better eye than most on steel market developments.
What we’ll talk about
We’ll talk about the positives and negatives of tariffs and what else the steel industry might like to see from the Trump administration.
We’ll also talk about the latest capacity announcements and what it means for the market.
Most of us are familiar with the new capacity that has been installed by domestic mills in recent years or that is under construction. We have a table of those projects here and here.
Now there is potentially another wave of capacity on the way. Case in point: South Korean steelmaker POSCO plans to build a $5.8-billion EAF sheet mill in Louisiana to supply the company’s automotive interests in the southeastern US. And Japanese steelmaker Nippon is considering a $4-billion mill in the US should the Trump administration OK it’s acquisition of U.S. Steel.
That’s just in steel. How much higher could that investment figure go if we include other industries?
Finally, do current US trade policies support big investments in downstream steel-consuming industries?
We’ll take your questions too. So make sure to bring some good ones to the Q&A!
Editor’s note
You can register for other upcoming Community Chats here. SMU subscribers can also access recordings of past Chats, as well as accompanying slide decks, on the same page.
Michael Cowden
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