• Skip to main content

    Manufacturers/End Users

    May 5, 2026

    Fed indicators signal healthy manufacturing sector

    Written by Brett Linton

    Recently released Federal Reserve data signal that the US manufacturing sector remains resilient. Most manufacturing indicators strengthened through March and showed strong positive annual growth.

    Industrial production and durable goods were at or near multi-year highs in March, while factory orders rose to a record high. Both new orders and inventories for iron and steel products remained steady yet healthy.

    Brett Linton

    Brett Linton is a digital operations analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

    Read more from Brett Linton

    Latest in Manufacturers/End Users

    Shipbuilding to return to Sparrows Point

    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.