Final Thoughts: Steel Summit 2025 has launched!

The shifting trade landscape has dominated the headlines from “Liberation Day” to “reciprocal” tariffs to Section 232 tariffs climbing from 25% to 50%. I halfway thought this Tariffpalooza would overshadow the conference. What else would we talk about?

But on the first day of the Summit, I saw a shift. There was more of a view that whatever this current situation is, it’s not going back. Not to 2024. And definitely not to pre-2020. We’re here, and we need to navigate this present moment despite the cloudy outlook. So what’s going to happen?

Well, in that same futures panel, CRU’s Head of Steel Americas Analysis, Josh Spoores, said, “Something is coming that will disrupt our view of prices; volatility is coming.”

He said it could come in the form of a trading alliance, tariffs coming off, extra capacity disrupting the market, or something else entirely. But the main point is this current status quo in the doldrums is not going to last.

So how do you face this uncertainty? As fellow panelist Josephine D’Amico, VP at Goldman Sachs, put it in her elevator pitch for futures: “If you’re not hedging, you’re speculating.”

That focus on the future also included a panel on a familiar topic that is taking on more and more urgency by the day: artificial intelligence.

Luc Van Nerom, innovation manager at PSI Metals, declared that, “AI will make a big change in the next couple of years.”

He added that, in fact, “AI will change the steel industry,” noting that there will be “a lot of obstacles, a lot of good and bad, but you have to move forward.”

He gave some examples of where AI is already contributing, such as surface defect detection, lead time estimation, and electric steel cutting plan optimization.

This is not some pie-in-the-sky technology of tomorrow. It’s happening today. And businesses all along the value chain are encouraged to dip their robotic toes in the waters, not just to get ahead of the curve, but to keep up.

And then there was the keynote speaker, retired astronaut Shane Kimbrough. You can’t get more future than the exploration of space. With the US racing to return to the moon, the status quo and a myopic focus cannot endure for long in the face of zero gravity.

Kimbrough is also a retired US Army colonel. He made the comparison to the steel industry in that whether leading soldiers, working in space, or in a steel mill, when lives are on the line, it vastly raises the stakes. And heightened attention to detail is crucial.

When Kimbrough saw the Earth from space, it made concrete how fragile things were here. Whether we’re talking about your company, the US, or “Fortress North America” and beyond, one constant remains: We’re all on Spaceship Earth.

Coming together

Seeing both familiar and new faces, the energy at the Summit is electric. I know the steel industry is dynamic and ready to tackle this new landscape, whatever it brings.

U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt struck a solemn note, mourning the tragic recent events at Clairton Coke Works, and doubling down on the company’s commitment to safety.

But he remained undaunted, saying that after the newly successful merger with Japan’s Nippon Steel: “We intend to build right here on this soil, with these hands.”

Indeed, we’re all building together. We’re so grateful that you have joined us at the SMU Steel Summit in Atlanta, as we all chart a course towards the future. So, forget about the next decade, at least for a moment – what will the next day at the SUMMIT bring?

We’re so excited to find out, and, as always, thanks for all your support.