Housing starts fell 7.0 percent in February, driven by a 26 percent plunge in multifamily housing construction, according to data from the Department of Commerce. Total housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.24 million units. Single-family housing starts rose 2.9 percent in February to a rate of 902,000. “The uptick in […]
SMU will begin our next flat rolled and plate steel market trends analysis beginning at 8 AM ET tomorrow morning (Monday). Please check your inbox (or SPAM filter) for our invitation to participate in the mid-March process. If you would like to be included in this or future surveys, please send an email to info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. […]
The competitive position of steel and steel products has improved in the last few months, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. In the past, we have reported the producer price indexes of steel and some competing products on a quarterly basis. This month, we have revamped and expanded our report to provide subscribers […]
The following analysis of the number of months of supply being held by flat rolled steel distributors is intended for SMU Premium level members. We are sharing this report with all of our readers during the first year of the index, after which it will be available for Premium members only. Shortly after the month […]
The Associated General Contractors of America warn that tariffs on aluminum and steel will drive construction costs up. The February report from AGC follows: Construction costs escalated in February, driven by price increases for a wide range of building materials including steel and aluminum, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America […]
Last week, Steel Market Update conducted an analysis of the flat rolled steel market trends. We reached out to 640 individuals representing more than 600 manufacturers, steel service centers and wholesalers, steel mills and toll processors and asked dozens of questions related to flat rolled and plate steel usage. One of the key areas of […]
I went out and looked around to see what I could find regarding foreign steel offers into the U.S. market. I did learn that the Mexican mills are offering to some of their core U.S. customers, but they do not have a lot of steel to sell. The pricing on hot rolled is being referenced […]
President Trump’s 25 percent tariff on steel from countries around the world comes at what cost? The trade action by the Trump administration is unpopular among the majority of the executives who responded to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire last week just before the president announced the tariffs, as expected. Nearly seven out of […]
Is steel demand showing signs of weakening? The year got off to a strong start, but changes in the last three Steel Market Update queries hint at a subtle change in steel buyers’ attitudes. A bit over half of the respondents to the last three SMU market trends questionnaires reported demand staying about the same […]
Mexico, Canada, Australia … (Europe, Russia, Turkey?) … which will be the next countries to negotiate directly with President Trump, who appears to be less interested in building steel jobs than getting trade concessions (or personal acknowledgement) out of many of our allies. With President Trump, you need to review his Twitter account should you […]
Eight out of 10 respondents to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire last week (just prior to President Trump’s announcement confirming the 25 percent tariff on steel imports) believe tariffs on foreign steel will weaken the steel and manufacturing base in the United States. Following are some reader comments, nearly all opposed to the Trump […]
Imports’ shares of the major steel product markets are all on the decline, reveals a new report on imports from Steel Market Update. The report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 18 subcategories of these product groups. We think the introduction of this analysis is timely as a way […]
Below is the latest data released by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through January 2018. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for January 2018 increased 7.7 percent […]
OK, the Section 232 announcement has been made. Canada and Mexico are in the clear (for the moment) and the president’s attention is now on North Korea and other issues not related to the economy. My advice, don’t panic (unless you haven’t bought any steel over the past few months, in which case you are […]
Steel inventories are increasing as the inventory-to-shipment ratio is decreasing—a very healthy trend for the supply chain. To efficiently manage inventory, companies generally want to keep the ratio low. A rise in the inventory-to-shipment ratio indicates that shipments are falling or the operation is keeping too much inventory on hand. Each month, the Census Bureau […]
President Trump’s controversial decision to impose a steep tariff on steel imports has clearly unsettled the market and taken a toll on the attitude of many steel buyers. Both current and future sentiment among flat rolled steel buyers declined significantly in the last two weeks, according to the latest Steel Market Update Steel Buyers Sentiment […]
Mill lead times on flat rolled steel orders continue to extend as supplies tighten and buyers scramble to replenish inventories ahead of the next price increase. One of the key indicators tracked by Steel Market Update, lead times reflect the activity at the mills and the order levels they are seeing from their customers. About […]
With foreign steel offers largely on hold as the market awaits President Trump’s final decision on steel tariffs, domestic steel mills are in a strong bargaining position and are taking full advantage of it. Nine out of 10 steel buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week say the mills are unwilling […]
The Dodge Momentum Index, a monthly forecast of nonresidential construction, increased just 0.5 percent in February. The marginal increase was due to an 8.2 percent rise in the institutional component that was offset by a 4.8 percent contraction in the commercial component. Dodge says that although the commercial component has declined for two months straight, […]
I am in Scottsdale, Ariz., attending the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association (FMA) annual meeting. I was asked to speak on a panel with Nucor Executive Vice President for Flat Rolled Ladd Hall and Don McNeeley, President of Chicago Tube and Iron. The timing of the conference couldn’t have been better for the fabricators, toll processors […]
Steel Market Update forecast that flat rolled steel shipments from U.S. service centers would rise from 87,805 tons per day in December to 109,083 tons per day in January. The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) reported last week that sheet distributors shipped 105,109 tons per day. Our shipment forecast accuracy continues to be high, off […]
I’ve lived through all kinds of trade cases, Section 201’s, voluntary restraint agreements – you name it. The U.S. government is not good for the steel industry and is not good for consumers of steel products. Gary Cohn is leaving the White House, apparently a signal that the 25 percent steel tariffs are coming your […]
Oscar Night, so I will keep my comments short and sweet…maybe. I was told by one of our readers over the weekend that it would cost U.S. Steel $100 million to re-start Granite City. They wanted to know if that was correct? I did some checking with a number of analysts and was told that […]
Automotive sales declined for all three Detroit automakers in February. Ford and General Motors reported that year-over-year sales declined 6.9 percent and FCA U.S. was down 1.0 percent. In contrast, Toyota sales jumped 4.5 percent year-over-year, and Mazda and Volkswagen made gains of 12.7 and 6.0 percent, respectively. BMW-Mini also saw sales increase in February […]
Key market indicators, and the trends they reveal, are the best they have ever been in Steel Market Update’s analysis. Data released in February shows that 18 of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only six negative. The balance is within the band of historically normal. Trends improved with 32 of the indicators heading […]
As much as the mills are gloating about President Trump’s decision to lay a 25 percent tariff on foreign steel, remember one thing – not one of them asked for it. When it was handed to them, they took it. They did not fight to protect those products that they don’t like to make (or […]
Flat rolled steel prices have been on the rise since October. Judging by steel demand, that trend is likely to continue. About 41 percent of all the respondents to last week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire reported improving demand for their products. Another 53 percent said demand remained the same. Only 6 percent felt […]
Home prices jumped 6.3 percent in December, according to the latest data from the S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index. The 10-city composite increase was 6.0 percent, unchanged from November. The 20-city composite posted a 6.3 percent year-over-year gain, compared to 6.4 percent the previous month. On a month-over-month basis, home […]
Sales of new single-family homes dropped in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000, according to the latest Department of Commerce data. January sales were 7.8 percent below December and 1 percent below the January 2017 rate. During the last three months, the average sales rate was 644,000. The median sales price was […]
The next few months are going to be a wild ride (in my opinion). There appears to be a cascading “Gray Swan” event in process prompted by Section 232 and expectations associated with 232, which now are for Trump to announce a 24 percent tariff on all steel products and let the chips fall where […]