SteelOrbis held its second-annual
Trading Workshop and Steel Trade Conference of the Americas this week in San Diego, California. The inaugural event brought together a host of professionals from all segments of the steel industry, from steel producers to distributors, to traders, as well as representatives of related industries such as logistics and raw materials.
The steel industry has undergone some very tough times since the first Steel Trade Conference. While a year ago, the steel market was riding high on record profits and rising prices, the attendees of this year's event convened to discuss the more sober task at hand: recovering from this Great Recession.
The overall mood at the event was probably best summarized by a statement made by SteelOrbis CEO Murat Eryilmaz in his opening remarks of the presentation portion of the Steel Trade Conference, which kicked off Thursday morning. Mr. Eryilmaz said that while the industry is still going through a difficult time, most would agree that “the worst is now behind
us.”
Other speakers and attendees of the conference echoed Mr. Eryilmaz' remarks, with several speakers commenting that we are not going back to year-ago prices anytime soon, the inventory de-stocking phase seems to finally be over, as buyers of both raw materials and finished steel products are now starting to replenish their supplies. Of course, the economy remains the greatest challenge going forward. There are some green shoots cropping up around the world and the
US economy is projected to start a slow recovery in the second half of this year; however, high unemployment and weak
consumption will remain significant hurdles.
Speakers at Workshop and Conference included a variety of respected industry executives and analysts, including (in alphabetical order): Brian Archer,
Wire Rod &
Rebar Trading Manager of Corus International
Trading Ltd.; Thomas Danjczek, President of Steel Manufacturers Association; Alan Gin, Associate Professor of
Economics at the University of San Diego; Alberto Hassan, Founder & President of the Hot Briquetted Iron Association (HBIA); David Hodary, Director of Marketing and Communications, David J. Joseph Company; Lewis Leibowitz, Partner, Hogan and Hatson LLP; Mike McCall, Chairman,
Wire Reinforcement Institute; Stephen Miller, Managing Director, Ferrosource Division of Stemcor USA; John Packard, Publisher of Steel Market Update; Anton Posner, Senior Vice President of MID-SHIP Logistics; Paul Shellman, Commodity Risk Management Consultant at CME; Jim Tregenza, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at TMK IPSCO; and Lotta Ulfsdotter, Business Manager - Steel at the London Metal Exchange.
Session 1 of the Steel Trade Conference focused on the economy and markets, while Session 2 speakers discussed the projected conditions for the world's major steel product markets, including outlooks for
wire rod,
rebar,
flats and tubulars. Finally, Session 3 centered around
steel futures and trade legislation.
Attendees of the optional
Trading Workshop held Wednesday had the unique experience of learning the ins and outs of the steel trade from the pros, with topics covering everything from raw materials, to
steelmaking, to steel transportation and financing.
In addition to the insightful commentaries from the speakers at this year's event (presentations will be made available to attendees of the conference at
www.steelorbisevents.com) attendees also enjoyed many networking opportunities including a welcome reception Wednesday night and a Cuban-themed Gala Dinner on Thursday evening. A Port of San Diego Cargo Terminal Tour and Bay Cruise, sponsored by the Port of San Diego, also took place Thursday afternoon.