There are but four very short weeks to go before THE major steel event of the year will kick off in Atlanta. Steel Market Update (SMU) is hosting our 7th SMU Steel Summit Conference, the fastest growing steel conference in North America. Why is our conference so successful? Listen to some of last year’s attendees […]
At a Section 232 briefing to the Ways & Means Committee on Thursday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross acknowledged the complexity of initiating broad trade action against imports of steel and aluminum. A “voluntary” agreement to address steel overcapacity was suggested that would allow countries to negotiate a solution to overcapacity and the resulting import surges. […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has been in contact with our scrap sources who are advising us ferrous scrap prices will move higher as we get into August negotiations with the steel mills. We have been hearing scrap will move by a minimum of $15 per gross to $25 per gross ton. “Ferrous grades will certainly […]
U.S. Steel announced the appointment of Kevin P. Bradley as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Bradley will lead all aspects of the company’s financial enterprise, including internal and external reporting, credit, tax and treasury services, investor relations, internal controls and internal audit administrative oversight. He will also assist in developing and implementing the […]
John Packard and Ray Culley of Steel Market Update (SMU) spoke with Michael Smerconish of CNN and Sirus XM Radio on Monday afternoon as we prepare for one of the most dynamic finishes to any steel-related conference program. The title of his presentation is, “How did we get here (politically) and what will it take […]
A shortage of qualified job seekers resulted in only 25 states adding construction jobs between May and June despite strong industry demand, says the Associated General Contractors of America. Forty-one states added construction jobs between June 2016 and June 2017. “Contractors in most of the country say they have plenty of projects booked and would […]
Registrations for our 2017 SMU Steel Summit Conference continue to roll in. With five weeks to go before the conference begins, registrations topped 525 steel and manufacturing executives this weekend. We have more than 240 companies registered to attend and we anticipate we will add more over the final 37 days. The conference, located at […]
Registrations for our 2017 SMU Steel Summit Conference continue to roll in. Five weeks from today our 7th conference will begin, registrations topped 530 steel and manufacturing executives as of this morning (Monday, July 24). We have more than 240 companies registered to attend and we anticipate we will add more over the final 34 […]
Phil Bell is a brave man. The president of the Washington-based Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) has volunteered to serve on a trade panel during Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit Conference next month in Atlanta. He knows full well that his fellow panelists—a trade lawyer, a manufacturers’ advocate and a spokesman for a libertarian think tank—will […]
Trade talks with China this week ended in a stalemate after the U.S. pressed for “more fair” trade terms. The discussions were described as “a frank exchange,” but little if any agreement was reached on bilateral trade and economic issues, according to a senior U.S. official. A press conference following the meeting was canceled and […]
We’re in for a good year ahead, says popular economist Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics, who will be a keynote speaker during Steel Market Update’s 2017 Steel Summit Aug. 28-30 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta. Previewing his remarks, ITR forecasts another six months of accelerating economic expansion for the U.S., followed by […]
United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard says the Trump administration’s objectives for NAFTA don’t go far enough. In a statement following publication of the objectives by the U.S. Trade Representative, Gerard said that although the USW has long supported renegotiation of NAFTA, protection for workers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico has been supplanted by […]
Drexel Metals, a custom metal fabricator and portfolio company of Arborview Capital, has been acquired by Carlisle Construction Materials. Drexel, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a leader in the residential and nonresidential architectural metal roofing segment with regional facilities in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Colorado and Maryland. Drexel provides on-site rolling of metal panels, custom trim and […]
We’re in for a good year ahead, says popular economist Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics, who will be a keynote speaker during Steel Market Update’s 2017 Steel Summit Aug. 28-30 at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta. Previewing his remarks, ITR forecasts another six months of accelerating economic expansion for the U.S., followed by […]
The very first Steel Market Update Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop did not include a mill tour. It was held in Houston and, even though the class was interesting and educational, a few of the attendees told us how much better it would have been if they could have toured […]
The very first Steel Market Update Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop did not include a mill tour. It was held in Houston and, even though the class was interesting and educational, a few of the attendees told us how much better it would have been if they could have toured […]
Is today’s contentious and acrimonious political climate having a negative effect on American business? Is the win-at-any-cost attitude in politics, so evident in everyday news reports, eroding ethical business practices in steel and other industries? Is it OK to bend the truth or to make up “fake news” to damage your competition? The desire to […]
The 2017 SMU Steel Summit Conference Events App is now available for all attendees, sponsors and exhibitors to download and use. The App is where you find all the most up-to-date information about the conference, what you work from to network with other attendees and what you will use to get the speaker presentations after […]
The 2017 SMU Steel Summit Conference Events App is now available for all attendees, sponsors and exhibitors to download and use. The App is where you find all the most up-to-date information about the conference, what you work from to network with other attendees, and what you will use to get the speaker presentations after […]
ArcelorMittal Cleveland General Manager Eric Hague retired June 30, 2017, after 42 years in the Cleveland steel industry. Hauge was instrumental in preserving the blast furnaces when former owner LTV closed the plant in 2001. Instead of a warm idling of the furnaces, Hauge suggested a controversial cold shut down to preserve them from the […]
ArcelorMittal’s Georgetown steel mill may see new life under prospective owner Liberty House Group. A tentative deal has been reached with UK-based Liberty House to purchase the shuttered wire rod facility, but a completed purchase agreement has not been signed. ArcelorMittal is working to reach a successful conclusion to the sale of the Georgetown facility, […]
John Packard, Publisher, Steel Market Update Today I spent a good portion of my time wandering around the United States and Canada soliciting information about flat rolled steel pricing, lead times, Section 232 and anything else steel buyers wanted to talk about. I thought the quote of the day was from a manufacturing company who […]
Editor’s note: The opinions expressed here are those of trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz and do not necessarily reflect those of Steel Market Update. There will be more discussion about trade, trade suits and Section 232 in our upcoming SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will include presentations by Leibowitz and others on both sides of the […]
On Monday, our registrations for the Aug. 28-30 SMU Steel Summit Conference surpassed 500 steel and manufacturing executives. We expect to beat last year’s attendance record by 100 attendees as the SMU Steel Summit Conference continues to be the fastest growing steel conference in North America. There are now 46 days to go… We also […]
As expected, ferrous scrap prices traded sideways (July delivery to be the same as June) in most markets. Of course, having just said that, we do need to point out that the steel mills sourcing scrap from the East Coast had to pay $10 per gross ton more in order to keep scrap from moving […]
John Harris is the former director of raw materials for ArcelorMittal. Currently, he is a consultant and speaker on global metallics, and he will be a speaker at this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference at the end of August. Mr. Harris and Philip Hoffman of Hoffman Iron & Steel have been conducting a friendly debate […]
The following article was sent to us by one of our steel and scrap trading sources located within China. He has been actively involved in the export of ferrous scrap out of China this year and understands where that market is headed right now (and why). Here is what he shared with Steel Market Update […]
On Thursday, Steel Market Update (SMU) published an article about the scrap markets entitled “Ferrous Scrap: Sideways in July?” In the article, John Harris, the former scrap buyer for ArcelorMittal and one of our speakers at this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference, gave his opinions on the future issues associated with the industry. On Friday, […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) spoke with ferrous scrap executives about the outlook for the industry, not only looking at the upcoming negotiations with the steel mills for July shipments, but also the long-term view. The scrap industry is upbeat about its future as electric arc furnaces continue to take market share from integrated steel producers. […]
JSW Steel (USA) has received approval from its board for a full-scale modernization of its Baytown, Texas, steel plate mill. The project is expected to take 20 months to complete and will result in a fully modern discrete plate mill with significantly more product offerings. “While perfecting the unique plate and contiguous pipe mill facility […]