Negotiations between steel mills and buyers may have turned a corner as the mills appear significantly more willing to negotiate spot prices than at any other point this year. “We’re sensing that some of the steel mills have holes in their August order book for hot rolled coil,” one steel pipe executive told Steel Market […]
As of this weekend, we have registered 775 executives in manufacturing, steel distribution, steel mills, trading companies, toll processors, transportation companies, as well as suppliers to these industries, for our SMU Steel Summit Conference. We are now 125 above last year’s record. With 35 days to go we should reach, and hopefully exceed, our goal […]
Data from Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire shows current industry sentiment stablizing after a bit of a swoon seen earlier this year due to the uncertainty related to the Section 232 tariffs and surprises regarding exclusions (or lack thereof). From a historical perspective, current sentiment remains at highly optimistic levels, however. SMU’s Steel […]
Housing starts in June dropped 12.3 percent from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,273,000. June starts were 4.2 percent below the level in June 2017. A plunge in multi-family housing starts led the decline, falling 20.2 percent to a rate of 304,000 for buildings with five units or more. Single-family starts were […]
My life these days is consumed by our upcoming SMU Steel Summit Conference, our brand-new Steel 201: Introduction to Advanced High Strength & Other New Steels workshop and the next SMU Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop, as well as writing articles and trying to stay on top of the flat […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update have access to reports on SMU’s website that break out the import tonnage into district of entry and source nation for six sheet and plate categories. SMU has now developed reports that drill down to provide more product detail on hot rolled and cold rolled coil. We report these […]
Growth of China’s economy has flattened, but steel production continues to surge. Once each quarter, Steel Market Update publishes the official statistics for Chinese GDP, industrial production, consumer price inflation and fixed asset investment. Many analysts don’t believe these self-serving Party figures, but we include them in our reports because of the importance of China […]
This Steel Market Update report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories through May. Table 1 shows total supply to the market in three months through May and in 12 months through May for the four product groups and the 16 subcategories. Supply to the market is the […]
I am back in my office and will be here for the balance of the week. Diana is back as well and will be in her office until we leave for Atlanta at the end of August. Graber Post Buildings, Esmark, CMC Impact Metals, North American Steel Alliance, Fluor, Whirlpool Corporation, Metal One America, Gateway […]
Manufacturing companies have a different perspective on service center spot pricing than what the service centers themselves reported to Steel Market Update during the first week of July. We are about to survey steel buyers as we work on our mid-July flat rolled and plate steel market trends analysis. Prior to the new survey, we […]
Last night for me in Maine. It’s been a wonderful long weekend to escape some of the heat of Florida for a few days. I will be traveling most of the day tomorrow and I will be back in my office on Tuesday for the balance of the week before leaving for Minnesota. We will […]
Constructions costs are escalating due to tariffs on a wide range of building and road construction materials, said the Associated General Contractors of America in a new analysis of Labor Department data. The producer price index rose sharply on construction inputs in June. Aluminum mill shapes jumped 20 percent year-over-year, copper and brass mill shapes […]
It’s a beautiful day in Maine. I spoke to the Chain Link Fence Manufacturers Institute this morning. The group was engaged and had many questions regarding the Section 232 tariffs. I was followed by Dr. Lynn Reaser, the Chief Economist for the Fermonian Business & Economic Institute. She works specifically with the CLFMI and she […]
Steel Market Update has adjusted our SMU Price Momentum to Neutral from Higher on all products except plate, which remains at Higher for the moment. We chose to move at this time due to weakness we are seeing in the cold rolled and coated steel markets, with mild price erosion already evident in certain markets. […]
Construction spending has accelerated for six straight months, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Commerce Department data. Growth of total construction expenditures on a rolling three-month basis year over year increased from 0.9 percent in November 2017 to 4.4 percent in May 2018. In the DOC’s July 2 release, which included data through […]
In the last 12 months, manufacturing employment has grown by 2.3 percent and construction employment by 4.1 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data for June—positive indicators of future steel sales volume. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most of the goods-producing […]
The Dodge Momentum Index, a measure of the nonresidential construction projects in planning, moved higher in June, gaining 0.8 percent to post a score of 165.5. The commercial component of the index outpaced the institutional component, with gains of 1.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. “June’s advance marks the fifth straight monthly increase for the […]
My understanding is the salespeople at the former CSN Terre Haute, Ind., steel mill will remain with Steel Dynamics. SDI did something similar when they purchased what is now SDI Columbus, Miss. I have heard that Paul Navetta is the sales manager at SDI Terre Haute. I also understand that Jerry Richardson will remain with […]
The data from Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire shows mixed feelings when it comes to Current vs. Future Sentiment. The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index measures how buyers and sellers of flat rolled and plate steels feel about their companies’ ability to be successful both now (Current) and three to six months into […]
Steel executives canvassed by Steel Market Update this week reported that demand remains strong, though they are less confident about conditions later in the year. Many expressed concern about the tariffs and trade issues unfolding in Washington, difficulty with trucking and logistics, and the impact of high steel prices on their customers. Following are some […]
Mill lead times on most flat rolled steel products saw little change in the past two weeks, according to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends data. Lead times for hot rolled now average nearly five and a half weeks, cold rolled a bit less than seven and a half weeks, and galvanized a bit more […]
Steel mills appear slightly more willing to negotiate spot prices on cold rolled and less open to price discussions on hot rolled, galvanized and Galvalume products, according to respondents to last week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire. Every two weeks, in a proprietary poll, SMU tracks how buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel […]
May heating and cooling equipment shipments were up 10.0 percent in May compared to one year ago, according to data released by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) last Friday. This is the higest year-over-year increase since March 2017 when there was a 10.1 percent increase. Residential and commercial storage water heaters were up […]
I will be in my office on Monday and Tuesday of this week before traveling to Maine to speak to the Chain Link Fence Manufacturers Institute on Thursday. I have a very busy schedule over the next couple of months leading up to our 8th SMU Steel Summit Conference on Aug. 27-29. I hope I […]
The following report is normally provided to data providers and Premium level members of Steel Market Update: Steel Market Update began collecting flat rolled and plate inventories information from our participating service centers beginning on Monday of this week. The following is our “Flash” report, which is derived from at least 50 percent of the […]
Detroit automakers reported higher sales in June as buyer enthusiasm for SUVs and pickup trucks continued. Ford sales for the month increased 1.2 percent year-over-year to 230,635 vehicles on purchases of SUVs and F-series trucks. Fiat Chrysler sales jumped 8 percent to 202,264 vehicles in June and General Motors, no longer reporting monthly sales, said […]
Welcome back to those of you in the United States who had the Fourth of July off, but didn’t decide to take a few extra days and extend the holiday. SMU was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday in honor of the Fourth and also to give myself a bit of a break having just been […]
Good evening from another sunny and warm day in London. Diana and I have been here since Wednesday morning of last week. We spent two full days at the headquarters of the CRU Group and another two and a half days sightseeing around London as this is our first trip to England. Having spent a […]
I am in London attending meetings with our new parent company, the CRU Group. I have been very impressed at the depth of the work being done by the CRU team. I will be sharing more about the CRU Group in the days and weeks ahead. I do want to stress to those of you […]
The climb in home prices eased somewhat in April, according to the latest data from the S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller National Home Price Index. The national index showed a 6.4 percent annual gain in April, down from 6.5 percent in March. The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 6.2 percent, down from 6.4 percent […]