Steel Markets
Housing Starts Drop but Permits Surge in September
Written by Sandy Williams
October 19, 2016
Housing starts dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,047,000 in September, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The decline was 9 percent below August’s revised estimate and 11.9 percent below the September 2015 rate.
Single family housing starts increased from August by 8.1 percent to 783,000. Starts for apartment housing of five units or more was at an estimated 250,000 units, down 38.9 percent from August’s estimate and 42.5 percent below the year ago level. The Northeast led the drag on starts with a decline of 36.0 percent.
The better news was in building permit authorizations, an indicator of future housing construction. Building permits were up 6.3 percent from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,225,000 and were 8.5 percent higher than the September 2015 rate. Single family authorizations edged up 0.4 percent from August and multi-unit buildings increased 17.2 percent.
Permit growth was primarily due to a jump in authorizations in the Northeast and West, up 23.6 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively. Most of that increase was due to multi-unit authorization permits. The South had a total increase in permits of 2.6 percent while the Midwest declined 5.2 percent.
Builder Confidence
The National Association of Home Builders reports builder confidence in the market was solid in its October survey, down two points from 63.
“The October reading represents a mild pullback from a jump in September, and indicates that the housing market continues to make slow and steady gains,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Moreover, mortgage rates remain low and the HMI index measuring future sales expectations has been over 70 for the past two months. These factors will sustain continued growth in the single-family market in the months ahead.”
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets
Steel Summit: Schneider sees SDI ‘on the edge of a very good run’
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) President and Chief Operating Officer, Barry Schneider, remains bullish about the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker’s position in the current market.
Sheet market participants say sales still in a slump
Across the US and throughout the steel supply chain, market participants are reporting another painfully quiet week for hot-rolled (HR) coil sales.
CRU: Lower sheet prices have pulled back demand for imports
Domestic sheet prices in the US remained under pressure, limiting interest in imports, while domestic prices for longs products continued to rise.
President Trump intends to set additional steel tariffs
While boarding Airforce One on Friday, US President Donald Trump stated that he would be setting more steel tariffs and putting ~100% tariffs on semiconductors and chips.
USS, government officials give update on Clairton Coke Works incident
U.S. Steel, Allegheny County executive Sara Innamorato, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro clarified details from early reports about the Clairton Coke Works facility explosion just one day earlier.