Steel Markets
Housing Starts and Permits Fall in April
Written by Sandy Williams
May 16, 2017
Housing starts surprised economists by moving lower in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,172,000. April’s tally is 2.6 percent below the March estimate of 1,203,000 but 0.7 percent higher than a year ago. Projections were for starts to reach 1.26 million in April.
Starts increased 41.1 percent in the Midwest and 5.4 percent in the West. Starts in the Northeast and South declined 37.3 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively.
Single family starts increased 0.4 percent from March while apartment style homes of five units or more fell 9.6 percent.
Permit authorizations, an indicator of future growth, also fell in April. Building permits were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,229,000, 2.5 percent below March but 5.7 percent above April 2016. Single family permit authorizations were down 4.5 percent sequentially and multi-family up 1.5 percent. Regionally, housing permits issuance compared to March were down 10.3 percent in the Northeast and down 7.4 percent in the South. Permit authorizations rose 1.0 percent in the Midwest and 8.7 percent in the West.
A recent survey by the National Association of Homebuilders showed builder confidence at the second highest rate since the downturn. Builders continue to be optimistic even as they deal with higher building material costs, low lot availability and labor shortages, said NAHB.
“Despite this minor pull back, builders are optimistic about market conditions and expect more consumer activity in the months ahead,” said Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “However, builders need to be careful to manage expenses as construction costs continue to rise.”
“While we saw a little pause in market growth this month, single-family production is still up 7 percent since the start of 2017,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “The April report falls in line with our forecast for continued, gradual strengthening of the single-family sector throughout the year.”
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets
Steel market participants mull the impact of US/Mexico S232 negotiations
Steel market participants learned that negotiations between the US and Mexico include discussions about Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum despite President Trump’s June 3 proclamation increasing the tariffs from 25% to 50% for all steel and aluminum imports—except for those from the UK.
ArcelorMittal plans wire-drawing closure in Hamilton, shifts production to Montreal
ArcelorMittal’s (AM) Hamilton location to be shuttered, wire production shifting to Montreal.
Tariffs, ample domestic supply cause importers to shift or cancel HR import orders
Subdued demand is causing importers to cancel hot-rolled (HR) coil orders and renegotiate the terms of shipments currently enroute to the US, importers say. An executive for a large overseas mill said customers might find it difficult to justify making imports buys after US President Donald Trump doubled the 25% Section 232 tariff on imported steel […]
CRU Insight: A 50% S232 tariff will raise US steel prices and shift trade flows
This CRU Insight examines how the increase in Section 232 tariffs on steel to challenging levels will lead to significatively higher prices for end consumers in the US market.
Steel market shakes tariffs off amid weak demand
Service centers and distributors contend that weak demand is to blame for the flattening of domestic steel spot prices, as reflected in Nucor Steel’s weekly Consumer Spot Price (CSP) notice. On Monday, the Charlotte, North Carolina-headquartered steel producer left prices unchanged from the previous week. Nucor has maintained prices of plate produced in Brandenburg since March 28.