Market Data
January 7, 2025
Written by Michael Cowden
Steel prices didn’t start the new year with a bang – but they didn’t bust, either, according to SMU’s first survey of 2025.
SMU’s Steel Demand Index rose to 69.5 in mid-September, its highest reading in more than five years.
SMU’s Mill Order Index (MOI) accelerated in August for a fourth consecutive month, reaching its strongest reading in nearly five years.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) said slightly fewer firms reported a decline in billings in August than in July, but the headline index reading remained in contraction.
Domestic raw steel output fell to a six-month low last week after hitting a multi-year high one week earlier, according to the latest American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures.
Drilling activity increased in the US this week but declined in Canada, according to active oil and gas rig count figures recently released from Baker Hughes. The US rig count rose by four to 595 rigs this week, now at the highest level recorded in over two years. Canadian counts eased to a 10-week low of 197 this week, down 10 rigs from the prior week.