Manufacturers/End Users
January 5, 2026
Written by Kristen DiLandro
The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) latest report finds that December 2025’s market conditions in the manufacturing sector continued to soften. The same monthly report shows the sector is in its 10th consecutive month of contraction.
December’s ISM Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) stands at 47.9%, down 0.3% from 48.2% a month earlier.
Shipbuilding is set to return to Sparrows Point, Md. President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced plans to develop a new shipbuilding facility at the site called Arsenal-2. The 2-million-square-foot facility sitting on an 187-acre site will manufacture critical components for the Virginia-class submarine. Sparrows Point is the former site of Bethlehem Steel, once the world's largest steel mill, and the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard.
Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on topics ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to tariffs, imports, and evolving market events. Below, we share a selection of the comments we received, in each buyer’s own words.
SMU’s latest Flat-Rolled Steel Survey points to largely stable demand, but foreign steel orders have softened since the previous survey, and service centers continue to report stronger activity than manufacturers.
The results of the latest Steel Market Update (SMU) flat-rolled market survey are now available on our website to all premium members.
The Chicago Business Barometer rebounded in September, returning to expansion after slipping into contraction in August.