Archives: Webinars

The pandemic has not stopped Section 232, anti-dumping and countervailing duties and other trade remedies enjoyed by the domestic steel mills. There is also the new USMCA agreement with Mexico and Canada, as well as the China trade deal. Then there is the exclusion process related to the Section 232 tariffs. There is much to cover, so please come join us next Wednesday, June 3rd as Mr. Leibowitz sits down to have a one-on-one chat with John Packard, President & CEO of Steel Market Update.

Zekelman Industries buys 200,000 tons of steel each and every month. Their customers are associated with construction, energy, agriculture and many other market segments critical to the steel industry. Zekelman Industries is a large provider of steel for “The Wall” between the United States and Canada. As a $2.7 billion pipe and tube manufacturing company, they are in a unique position to comment on the status of the U.S. economy, and to provide color on what will happen over the next 3, 6, 12 months.

Unlike some other analysts, Anton and IHS don’t expect a V-shaped recovery for the U.S. economy. Just because the economy plunged so sharply following the government shutdowns to stem the spread of COVID-19 doesn’t mean the upturn will be equally sharp. The economy is more likely to experience a protracted U-shaped recovery that will take years, not months, Anton said, as it undergoes structural, not just cyclical, changes.

Dr. Chris Kuehl is the Managing Director of Armada Corporate Intelligence. He provides forecasts and strategic guidance to a wide variety of corporate clients around the world. Kuehl has spoken at numerous SMU Steel Summit Conferences where his free-wheeling style both informed and entertained.

Tanners raised eyebrows last year with her prediction that the mills' many planned capacity additions would oversupply the market in the next few years and cause "Steelmageddon," a dramatic drop in steel prices. As it turns out, it's the coronavirus pandemic that has wrought a sort of armageddon on the global economy and steel prices. Rather than adding capacity, the mills are now taking dramatic steps to curtail production and align it with the weak demand.

Ken Simonson, self-proclaimed optimist and chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, offered a fairly pessimistic forecast for the construction sector during Wednesday's SMU Community Chat.

On Wednesday, April 22, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, Steel Market Update will host our next SMU Community Chat Webinar. We will feature Bernard Swiecki of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). This webinar is open to anyone in the steel community and is complimentary. We will discuss the automotive industry in North America and how it is being impacted by the COVID-19 virus, and what the industry will look like once people return to work.

Mr. Raimondo will discuss how the coronavirus is impacting his business, the steps he has taken to keep employees and customers safe, the strength of Behlen’s order book, and how the company is dealing with the future uncertainty in the agriculture, metal building and fabrication markets.

On Wednesday, April 8, SMU will host our first SMU Community Chat webinar. The webinar will be hosted by SMU President & CEO John Packard and will feature Josh Spoores, CRU Principal Analyst and Editor of the CRU Steel Sheet Monitor.