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    Final Thoughts

    November 20, 2025

    Final Thoughts

    Written by Michael Cowden

    We’ve been writing a lot about steel prices lately and what might happen with President Trump’s trade and tariff policy. I’d like to take a little break from that today. Instead, I’ll focus on something I always find exciting and inspiring – namely, new mills.

    I was in Arkansas last week for the grand opening of Hybar, the new rebar mill CEO David Stickler and his team have built in the town of Osceola. These days, that part of the world has become a steelmaking hub. And it arguably rivals more established industrial areas like Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Chicago.

    Michael Cowden

    Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.

    Read more from Michael Cowden

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