Features
Final Thoughts: Happy birthday SMU
Written by Brett Linton
August 5, 2025
Steel Market Update is proud to celebrate its 17th birthday this month.
Born in August 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, SMU was never meant to be just another trade publication. It began as a personal email from our founder, John Packard, to help his customers make sense of the steel market’s volatility. What started as a one-man effort quickly grew into something much bigger: a trusted voice for the steel industry, delivering timely, useful information to help buyers and sellers navigate a complex market.
Over the years, SMU has grown from a niche newsletter into a respected industry presence, offering proprietary data, training workshops, and North America’s largest flat-rolled steel conference: the SMU Steel Summit. From price indices to market sentiment to data insights, we’ve continued to invest in helping the industry work smarter.
This evolution wouldn’t have been possible without a dedicated team. What began as a husband and wife operation has grown into a full crew. Today, 10 of us work behind the scenes at SMU, plus another three manning the ship at our newly launched sister publication, Aluminum Market Update (AMU).
We thank our readers, partners, and team for being part of this 17-year journey. We wouldn’t be here without you. Here’s to the road ahead and to many more years of shared success. And, as always, we truly appreciate all of your support.
Speaking of Steel Summit
The countdown is on! We’re just 20 days away from the SMU Steel Summit 2025. More than 1,300 people have already registered to attend, and that number could easily reach 1,500 by the time we kick off on Aug. 25.
If you haven’t secured your spot yet, there’s still time to join the industry’s premier flat-rolled steel event. We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!
Brett Linton
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Final Thoughts
The big show is here again. SMU Steel Summit begins on Monday. This year, like last year, more than 1,500 people will be joining us. And I couldn’t be more excited to have everyone here in Atlanta.
Price on trade: What a difference a year makes!
As everyone surely knows by now, the SMU Steel Summit starts on Monday in Atlanta, Ga. So, this is a great opportunity to reflect on how much has changed since the 2024 Summit. Certainly, no one could have imagined the wholesale and transformative changes to U.S. and global trade policy.
SMU Survey: Current Sentiment tumbles on tariffs, uncertainty, soft demand
SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices moved in opposing directions this week. Our Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index dropped to one of the lowest levels recorded in over five years, while Future Buyers’ Sentiment inched higher.