Analysis
February 12, 2026
Final Thoughts
Written by Ethan Bernard
The day started off cloudy in Tampa. But by early afternoon on Thursday, the Florida sunshine returned in full force. There was no parallel lag in the content on the first full day of the Tampa Steel Conference. Things got going fast.
Breaking news came from an SMU Fireside Chat with Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Chicago-based pipe and tube maker Zekelman Industries. When asked, he told SMU Editor-in-Chief Michael Cowden he was more likely to end up owning a nuclear-powered boat than a steel mill. You heard it here first.
Personally, I took away a lot from my raw materials panel with Matt Bell, president of OmniSource, and Canada-based Sean Cleary, CEO of Strategic Resources. A kind of hypervigilance has resulted from the volatile trade policies of the current administration. You learn to be nimble when trade policy can change without warning.
And, will scrap finally end up being a precious metal? The jury is still out.
Likewise, another fascinating perspective came from the trade panel I moderated with Lewis Leibowitz, principal at the Law Office of Lewis Leibowitz, and Alan Price, partner and international trade group partner chair at Wiley Rein LLP.
We learned that while the path forward after a year of tariffs from this administration is unclear, one thing is not: the old way of mediating trade policy is probably gone forever. We’re all anxious to find out what comes next.
And if, after the legal process, there needs to be refunds from President Trump’s tariffs? Well, both quipped that the lawyers will make out well. But the actual implementation would end up being a very messy process.
In between panels, it was a day of rubbing elbows with so many great attendees and SMU subscribers. Heck, there’s even a robot dog here. I REALLY wasn’t expecting that.
Tomorrow, the hits keep on rolling. There’s a North American steel trade association panel with Philip K. Bell, president and CEO of the Steel Manufacturers Association, and Catherine Cobden, president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association. What are the agreements and disagreements? One thing is for sure: the USMCA will definitely be a lively topic.
Also, CRU Research Principal Josh Spoores will be covering critical drivers of the US sheet market. What does he think is in store for the rest of 2026?
That’s just a small sample of what’s still to come. It’s moving so fast, there’s so much to take in.
What a pleasure meeting and talking with all of you here. Stay tuned, as our coverage of the conference is ongoing. But nothing beats being here live! A robot dog loses something when it’s translated to the page. You’ll just have to trust me.
