The construction industry remains optimistic despite still facing many challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of 1,400 contractors responding to the Associated General Contractors of America’s Coronavirus Survey, 62% said they plan to add employees this year. A bullish perspective typical of the construction industry, said AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson. “No matter how bad […]
I am going to spend some time discussing Steel Market Update this evening. I started SMU in August 2008 as a one-man show. The company has grown over the years both in size and scope. The sale of the company to CRU has turned out to be a blessing (I think for both companies), and […]
Service centers reported lower shipments during the month of February partially due to the harsh winter weather associated with “Snowmageddon.” Steel Market Update’s proprietary service center inventories and shipments report indicated 42.7 days of flat rolled inventories, which is up from 40 days of supply on hand at the end of January. Plate inventories stood […]
The PRO Act (Protecting the Right to Organize Act) will begin debate in the U.S. House this week. The legislation, voted down in previous years, would change long-established labor laws that not everyone believes will benefit employees and the industries in which they work. Among those critical of the legislation is the Associated General Contractors […]
A couple weeks back we were beginning to think the rise in spot prices would soon slow and we were close to a tipping point. We no longer have that opinion due to Snowmageddon, the winter storm that exacerbated the already late deliveries out of multiple steel mills. On top of that, we are seeing […]
Steel Buyers Sentiment, as measured by Steel Market Update, has seen little change since the beginning of February, recording a very optimistic reading of +69 this week. Future Sentiment moved up four points to a nearly as bullish +67. Both Current and Future Sentiment now exceed pre-pandemic levels and suggest that the market is hopeful […]
Severe weather froze the construction industry in February, contributing to an employment loss of 61,000 workers, said the Associated General Contractors of America in an analysis of government data. The sector’s unemployment rate soared 9.6% last month. Total construction employment was 7,340,000, a 4.0% drop from the most recent peak in February 2020. “The steep decline […]
The Dodge Momentum Index jumped 7.1% in February to register 149.0 for the highest level in nearly three years. The index is a monthly measure of the first report of nonresidential projects in planning, shown to lead construction spending by a full year. A surge of large projects entered the planning phase last month, said […]
It took 20 years, but the nation’s infrastructure GPA is no longer in the D range. The 2021 Report Card issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers gives America’s infrastructure a C-, a passing grade that still leaves plenty of room for improvement. Rail transit was the brightest spot in this year’s report, receiving […]
Last week, we conducted one of our flat rolled and plate steel market trends analyses. Or, to put it another way (that the search engines don’t like), we conducted one of our surveys that we do ever other week. We invited over 500+ market participants, most of whom are steel buyers in the manufacturing and […]
General Motors has extended production shutdowns at three North American plants because of a continuing microchip shortage. In addition, the automaker said it would take downtime at its Gravatai plant in Brazil. “Our intent is to make up as much production lost at these plants as possible,” a GM spokesman said on Wednesday, March 3. […]
You Can’t See the Forest for the Trees Mill lead times have surged over the past couple of weeks, which I believe is a result of Snowmageddon in Texas and other areas of the Southeast. When you look at our lead time graphics, you need to remember we are gathering data from our flat rolled […]
Tomorrow (Wednesday), we will host one of our SMU Community Chat Webinars with Rick Preckel of Preston Pipe and Michael Cowden of SMU. The two will discuss the energy segment and how higher oil prices will impact oil well drilling, use of line pipe and other OCTG products, and how quickly we may see demand […]
Nonresidential construction spending expanded for the first time in seven months, according to a new analysis of January federal construction data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Total construction spending was $1.52 trillion in January, up 1.7% from December and 5.8% from January 2020. Combined private and public nonresidential construction spending climbed 0.9% from […]
The semiconductor shortage that has forced North American automakers to temporarily halt production at some assembly plants has spilled into the home appliance industry as well. The situation is severe enough that the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), a lobbying group, has warned about potential re-allocations of semiconductors from that sector to others. There […]
There has been much said about the squeeze on supply of flat rolled and not as much about demand. Demand has been quite good in all sectors except the energy sector, which has been struggling for a couple of years due to prices that went below $40 per barrel. Now we are seeing warning signs […]
President Joe Biden has signed an executive order officially implementing a U.S. supply chain review for critical products such as semiconductors – a lack of which has led to widespread automotive production outages. “Recent shortages of automotive semiconductor chips have forced slowdowns at car manufacturing plants, highlighting how shortages can hurt U.S. workers,” the White House said […]
Sales of newly constructed single-family homes leapt 4.3% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 923,000, said the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. Sales compared to a year ago soared 19.3%. “Historically low mortgage rates and solid demand spurred an increase in new home sales in January, with the sales pace more than 19% […]
Steel prices will likely stay elevated until supplies catch up with demand, say the experts, so is there enough foreign steel on the way here to make a difference? Two out of three respondents to a recent SMU survey said foreign offers are very competitive versus domestic prices. With steel prices in the U.S. at […]
Home prices continued to accelerate through December, culminating in the highest annual gain in seven years. The National Composite Index for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices rose 10.4% in December compared to a year ago. “As COVID-related restrictions began to grip the economy in early 2020, their effect on housing prices was unclear,” said Craig […]
Auto assemblies in North America took a step back in January after seeing a strong end to 2020. Although the U.S. market continues to rebound from the effects of the pandemic, domestic light vehicle sales fell by 3.1% in January compared to year-ago levels, according to LMC Automotive (LMCA). Canada’s light vehicle sales were down […]
“Snowmageddon” did not help. Steel buyers are telling Steel Market Update that last week’s “Snowmageddon,” as one buyer called it, has caused steel orders into the South and South Central sections of the United States to be pushed out an additional one to two weeks. “We’re seeing some adjustments arising out of last week’s weather with […]
Finding that perfect house just became harder. The National Association of Realtors reports that inventory of existing homes at the end of January fell to a record low of 1.04 million units, a whopping 25.7% decline year-over-year. At the current sales rate, supply is at an all-time low of 1.9 months. Sales for the month […]
Steel Buyers Sentiment, as measured by Steel Market Update, hit a very optimistic +70 this week, not far from the highest reading ever recorded at +78 in January 2018. Future Sentiment was nearly as bullish at +63, just 14 points below its historical peak of +77, also in early 2018. Both Current Sentiment and Future […]
It is my opinion the U.S. is entering a “super cycle” that will be good for the steel industry and could well keep steel prices above the historical $600-$650 per ton average on benchmark hot rolled coils. This does not mean prices won’t scale back once more supply comes into the market. I am of […]
Many buyers have been expecting lead times for deliveries of spot steel orders to begin shortening in response to added mill capacity and more import arrivals, but there’s no hint of such a change yet in Steel Market Update lead times data. In fact, SMU’s check of the market this week shows lead times for […]
Lead times for spot orders of cold rolled and coated products have now extended to more than 10 weeks, while lead times for hot rolled now exceed nine weeks, based on Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week. Despite widespread expectations that mill lead times are overdue to reverse course as supplies catch […]
Soaring prices and delivery delays for steel, lumber and other materials are squeezing the finances of construction firms already burdened by the pandemic, said the Associated General Contractors of America. The trade group called on the Biden administration to review and rescind a range of trade tariffs, which it claims are contributing to unmanageable price […]
Steel Market Update data shows no significant change in the negotiating position of steel buyers, who remain largely at the mercy of the mills. More than nine out of 10 buyers responding to SMU’s questionnaire this week reported the mills unwilling to discuss price concessions—which has been the mills’ attitude for the past five months. […]
All but a tiny 3% of respondents to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week reported that the flat rolled mills remain unwilling to negotiate steel prices. Plate negotiations are only slightly more open, with 17% of buyers saying there is some wiggle room in price talks with the plate producers. As long as steel demand […]