Economy

August 2017 at a Glance
Written by John Packard
August 31, 2017
The following table is for the month of August 2017. Most of the data speaks for itself. We produce this information at the end of every month. There are a number of data points or reference points that are proprietary to Steel Market Update. These include our SMU Price Momentum Indicator which, at the end of August, was referencing prices as being Neutral. With a new round of price increases out of the domestic mills, we have not yet seen momentum move in a forceful way and we remain in Neutral.
We also have proprietary price indices on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and plate steel, as well as ferrous scrap (Midwest). Another proprietary product is our service center inventories indices and analysis.
There are many other proprietary products that are not listed in the table below and you can find out more about them on our website under Premium level products.

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Economy

Steel groups welcome passage of budget bill
Steel trade groups praised the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) in Congress on Thursday.

Industry groups praise Senate for passing tax and budget bill
The Steel Manufacturers Association and the American Iron and Steel Institute applauded the tax provisions included in the Senate's tax and budget reconciliation bill.

Chicago PMI dips 0.1 points in June
The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) slipped 0.1 points to 40.4 points, in June.

Multi-family pullback drives housing starts to 5-year low in May
US housing starts tumbled in May to a five-year low, according to figures recently released by the US Census Bureau.

Architecture firms still struggling, ABI data shows
Architecture firms reported a modest improvement in billings through May, yet business conditions remained soft, according to the latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) release from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.