Steel Markets
Auto Sales Rebound in September
Written by Sandy Williams
October 3, 2017
Auto sales rebounded in September, jumping 6.1 percent to more than 1.5 million vehicles sold, and surpassing analyst expectations. Kelly Blue Book projected a sales growth of 1.0 percent while Edmunds expected an increase of only 0.4 percent.
A boost in automotive sales came after Hurricane Harvey and is expected to continue through October and November as consumers replace damaged vehicles in the Southeast.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate rose to 18.57 million units from 17.72 million units a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp.
Sales were strong for almost every automaker. General Motors and Ford increased sales by 11.9 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively, and Toyota sales grew 14.9 percent.
FCA US was the odd man out in the top five automotive producers, down nearly 10 percent from September 2016. The decline was mostly due to planned reductions in fleet sales.
“September was the month the U.S. auto industry had been hoping for,” said Michelle Krebs, executive analyst for Autotrader. “Vehicle sales surpassed forecasts, thanks to a strengthening economy, August sales disrupted by and replacement demand created by hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and attractive model-year-end deals.”
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets
Glenfarne Alaska LNG and POSCO ink preliminary partnership
Glenfarne Alaska LNG and POSCO signed a preliminary strategic agreement during the GasTech Conference in Milan on Thursday.
Steel export volumes remain weak through July
Following a 3% decline in June, the amount of steel shipped outside of the US edged up 1% in July to 623,000 short tons. July was the sixth-lowest monthly export rate since the COVID-19 pandemic, and...
Hot-rolled market participants say ‘doldrums’ to roll on through year-end
Participants in the hot-rolled steel sheet market expect the market to remain subdued through the end of the year.
Market says cutting interest rates will spur stalled domestic plate demand
Market sources say demand for domestic plate refuses to budge despite stagnating prices.
Great Lakes iron ore shipments declined in August
Shipments of iron ore across the Great Lakes dropped to 5 million short tons (st) in August, according to the latest data from the Lake Carriers’ Association. That’s down 9.1% compared to August 2024 and 2% lower than the month’s 5-year average. All told, the year-to-date (YTD) iron ore volumes through August totaled 26.7 million […]