North American Steel Conference 2012

CRU is delighted to announce details of the North American Steel Conference on the 29- 30 October at the Westin River North, Chicago

How the recovery is shaping up to date

The US steel sheet market continues to surprise on the upside and is now approaching levels of consumption last seen just before the financial crisis. There are still headwinds; some of them macro like the uncertainty surrounding the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis; the residential real-estate and export led slowdown in China; next November’s elections and the potential for spike in the oil price, others are micro, like plentiful domestic supply and competitive imports. However, loose monetary policy and the inherent flexibility and responsiveness in the US economy are working their magic for now. The US light vehicle market is in great shape, there is a boom in the energy markets, and the indices from the mining, agricultural and construction sectors are all running ahead of overall industrial production.

What about the future?

The building blocks for a China-led CAGR of 4-5% in global sheet demand over the next five years are still in place. However, we cannot escape the uncertainty and volatility that have characterised the past year as the roots of the problems are still in situ. If you want to stay ahead of developments, it is crucial to meet end users, mills and service centres regularly to talk informally about developments and to hear the latest outlooks.

Stay ahead of the curve by attending CRU’s North American Steel Conference

1) Network with steel intensive manufacturers, mills and service centres for off the record insight

2) Understand the latest developments with independent research about North American, China, raw materials and other key influences

3) Know the price outlook for the year ahead