NEW Infrastructure & Steel Conference

Registration Opens

Welcome Reception

Registration Opens & Continental Breakfast Served

Opening Remarks

Keynote Address

Keynote Address

Economic Outlook and Prospects for Steel in the Short, Medium and Long Term

After a nine-month boom of surging demand and record profits in 2008, demand for steel has plummeted, paralyzed by tight liquidity and the lack of available credit. This session will review the state of the steel industry in the light of the economic crisis, and the prospects for recovery.

• To what extent can infrastructure investment, stimulus funds and increased government spending save the steel industry?

• What other economic indicators should we look out for?

• What can we expect for 2010, and beyond?

Coffee Break

Panel Discussion: The Impact of Infrastructure Spending on Supply-Demand Dynamics

This panel will share real-world perspectives from different players across the value chain on the current state of play in government-funded infrastructure projects.

• End-user demand: What changes have been seen, or are expected?

• Project roll-out and projected timelines:

- Progress of ‘shovel ready’ projects

• Capacity utilization:

- To what extent has stimulus spending softened the blow?

- Will we ever return to 2007/2008 levels? For how long will mills be destocking?

• How was pricing been impacted?

Networking Lunch

Presentation: The New SAFETEA-LU Highway Bill and Opportunities for Steel Demand

The Federal Highway Administration’s Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) - a $284 billion program governing United States federal surface transportation spending, will expire in September 2009, to be replaced by a new bill to cover the next 6 years.

This session will examine what can be expected in terms of:

• Road map: will a replacement be enacted by September?

• Opportunities for steel-intensive projects

• How might funds be increased, and where will the funding come from?

• To what extent will domestic products be favored?

Focus on TRANSPORTATION

Hear the latest on government-funded transportation infrastructure projects and what this means for steel products:

• Rail: mass transit; freight transport

• Highways, roads and bridges: opportunities for steel plate and rebar

• Case studies

Coffee Break

Remarks from U.S. Congressman Pete Visclosky

Congressman Pete Visclosky, Chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, delivers pre-recorded remarks on the legislative priorities of the Steel Caucus and an assessment of the Buy America plan.

Panel Discussion: ‘BUY AMERICA’ - Getting to Grips with the New Provisions and What They Mean to Your Business

This hands-on panel will clarify the newly introduced ‘Buy America’ provisions and offer insights on:

• How to differentiate between domestic products and imported products, and how to verify this with contractors

• Overcoming other compliance challenges

• How will ‘Buy America’ projects be monitored for compliance, and how do you need to prepare?

Networking Reception

Continental Breakfast Served

Focus on ENERGY

The ARRA has provided approximately $32 billion “to transform the nation’s energy transmission, distribution, and production systems by allowing for a smarter and better grid and focusing investment in renewable technology”.

This panel will explore opportunities created by the stimulus and other energy initiatives that could drive steel build-out:

• Transmission infrastructure/utility towers

• The new ‘Smart grid’

• Wind power; turbine installations

• Nuclear energy

• The proposed cap-and-trade legislation for carbon emissions: opportunities and risks for steel

Coffee Break

Focus on WATER

The nation’s inland waterways and the Great Lakes are major arteries for transporting steel-making raw materials as well as finished steel goods. Our panelists discuss the challenges of keeping waterways open, where the stimulus package has helped and where it has fallen short, as well as potential opportunities to supply materials for waterway infrastructure projects.

The topics the panel will discuss include:

• Status of inland waterway construction projects funded through the stimulus package and annual appropriations.

• Critical needs that were not addressed by ARRA.

• Disruptions to the manufacturing supply chain caused by delayed or underfunded projects and an aging system of locks and dams.

• The dredging crisis and its impact on Great Lakes cargo ships.

• How the delay in the construction of a new POE-sized locks on the Great Lakes is slowing freighter traffic to the Atlantic.

• Why a lack of funding for ice breaking equipment may threaten Great Lakes ports with closure.

Conference Close