Steel prices have risen relentlessly since bottoming out last summer and hit new record highs last month. But there are signs the astonishing uptrend in steel may finally be losing steam.

If there was a single jaw-dropping moment during Tuesday’s Tampa Steel Conference, Walter Kemmsies delivered it. The managing partner for The Kemmsies Group was offering a macroeconomic outlook on the North American steel industry, with a special focus on his area of expertise: ports, rail and infrastructure.

A challenging year ended on a strong note, reports Steel Market Update.

The strong market conditions for steel producers that marked the end of 2020 will soon run headlong into new and returning capacity.

The virtual SMU Steel Summit 2020 spread knowledge among those in the steel industry.

Attracting and retaining talent in the workforce is challenging in any industry, and the metals industry is no exception. At the Steel Market Update virtual conference in August, two presenters gave their perspectives on bringing in – and keeping – the next generation of employees.

Talks about the next major coronavirus relief package stalled in Congress in mid-August, and remained on hold until this month.

Our economic fortunes may hinge on the scientists...Timothy Gill, chief economist for the American Iron and Steel Institute, offered a range of thoughts on the overall economy and the outlook for steel during a webinar with Steel Market Update in mid-August.

The coronavirus has wiped out trade shows and in-person conferences. Flow and Steel Market Update are responding to the new environment with digital alternatives.

In early April, steel producers and distributors were frantic. The coronavirus had shut down much of the economy, and many companies had no idea where their next order would come from. Since then, much of the panic has subsided.

Steel Market Update has shifted its annual Steel Summit event to a virtual gathering. The three-day event will continue with the same schedule planned for the in-person conference Aug. 24-26 in Atlanta.

One of the perils of publishing a monthly magazine is the possibility that what you wrote at deadline will become obsolete by the time anyone reads it.

Steel prices are as unpredictable as the spread of a rogue virus, but one symptom of COVID-19 is likely to be lower steel prices.

There was a bit of a reprieve in the ongoing trucker shortage in 2019. It won’t last.

When Alan Beaulieu finished his keynote remarks at Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit in August, the semi-attentive listener could have come away fully enthused about the state of the industrial economy. Or thoroughly depressed.

It’s been a little over a decade since former steel salesman John Packard founded Steel Market Update. In that time frame, SMU has become a valuable source of industry pricing information and events.

Vested Metals, St. Johns County, Fla., has been named one of the fastest growing privately held companies in America. The company is ranked 234th in the 2019 Inc. 5000 List, a leading ranking of independent businesses.

One of the recurring topics at the recent Steel Summit from Steel Market Update was U.S. Steel Corporation’s recent announcement it would stop offering index-based pricing to its contract customers in 2020.