Steel Markets
Housing Starts Climb to Highest Rate Since 2007
Written by Sandy Williams
November 19, 2020
Housing starts exceeded expectations in October, jumping 4.9 percent from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,530,000 following a revision to 1,459,000 in September. Starts were up 14.2 percent from the October 2019 rate. Single-family construction led the way with a monthly increase of 6.4 percent. Construction starts for multifamily buildings of five units or more fell 3.2 percent.
Regionally, starts jumped 12.9 percent in the South, 4.2 percent in the West and 3.3 percent in the Midwest. Construction in the Northeast plunged 38.6 percent overall with single-family starts down 17.9 percent month-over-month.
“The pace of single-family starts in October was the highest production rate since the spring of 2007,” said National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “The October reading of starts was consistent with surging builder confidence, as single-family construction rises to meet strong buyer traffic, supported by low interest rates, a changing geography of demand, and a growing number of sales that have not started construction. However, builders continue to face challenges in terms of supply chain shortages of building materials and a lack of lots.”
Building permit authorizations were unchanged from the revised September rate of 1,545,000, but were 2.8 percent higher compared to October 2019. Single-family permits rose just 0.6 percent from September and authorizations for buildings with five units or more fell 5.9 percent.
Permit authorization gains were less than 1 percent in the South and West, up 2.9 percent in the Midwest and slid 9.5 percent in the Northeast.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets
USW cheers Evraz NA agreement with Atlas Holdings
The United Steelworkers (USW) labor union celebrated recent news of the signed agreement between Atlas Holdings and Evraz NA in which the Connecticut-based private equity company said it plans to acquire North America’s Evraz facilities.
Steel buyer spirits tempered by soft spot market conditions
Steel sheet buyers report feeling bogged down by the ongoing stresses of stagnant demand, news fatigue, tariff negotiations or implementation timelines, and persistent macroeconomic uncertainty.
Hot-rolled coil buyers continue seeking certainty
Steel market participants contend that buyers will remain in “wait-and-see" mode until some market stability is restored.
Latin American steel advocates warn on cheap import flood
Subsidized Chinese steel imports and cheap steel products from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) entering Latin American (LATAM) are threatening the region's steel market.
CRU: Steel prices fall amid global demand weakness
The forceful headwinds bearing down on steel markets across the globe have created demand challenges and sent prices southward. The US, however, challenged the global trend.