Is today’s contentious and acrimonious political climate having a negative effect on American business? Is the win-at-any-cost attitude in politics, so evident in everyday news reports, eroding ethical business practices in steel and other industries? Is it OK to bend the truth or to make up “fake news” to damage your competition? The desire to […]
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 May 2017. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for May 2017 increased 5.5 percent […]
I am working on an article regarding foreign steel offers, which have almost dried up completely due to the threats/unknowns associated with the Section 232 investigation. There have been a number of months where foreign steel imports have exceeded 3.5 million tons. We are hearing that these months will soon be behind us – although […]
The Steel Market Update Steel Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive this week for the second consecutive week, following a 10-week streak of being in negative territory. MoMo is a trailing indicator and shows the relationship between the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the previous […]
What was it – Tuesday that I said I thought the Section 232 results would be much less than what the steel mills thought a few weeks back? Last night on Air Force One President Trump spoke about considering quotas and tariffs on steel imports into the U.S. According to excerpts of his conversation with […]
The Dodge Momentum Index continued to exhibit strength in June, climbing 1.1 percent to 141.1. The monthly measure of nonresidential construction projects in planning was driven by a 4.8 percent jump in planning for institutional construction. The commercial component of the index dipped 1.3 percent, but was 11.8 percent higher than in June 2016. Institutional […]
Earlier today, I got a request from one of our readers looking for articles about Section 232 as they wanted to do an article on the subject for their customers. In responding to their inquiry, I performed two searches using the search box in the top righthand corner of our website. (I usually log in to […]
Flat roll lead times have remained within a narrow range over the past six months, according to the manufacturing companies and steel service centers responding to our flat rolled market trends analysis last week. Hot rolled lead times now average 4.41 weeks, which is the same as what we reported in mid-June, but still one-half […]
We saw steel mill lead times as being essentially the same to slightly higher than what we measured at the time of the last price increase announcements (week of June 5th). When the announcements were made, most steel mills were actively trying to collect increases. We saw the bottom of our price range rise, and […]
The question steel buyers are going to be asking themselves as this week begins is, will the Trump administration finally announce their findings on Section 232 and will this announcement allow President Trump to move on the duties or quotas expected by the domestic steel mills and many steel buyers? The question I am asking […]
SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index has come off historical highs set during the late first and early second quarters 2017. However, buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to be optimistic about the potential for their company to be successful in both the existing market as well as three to six months into the […]
Auto sales took a dive in June with the top three American automakers reporting sliding sales and foreign automakers reporting mixed results. Ford Motor Co. sales fell 5.1 percent year-over-year, while GM sales slipped 4.7 percent. FCA USA sales plunged 7 percent, in part due to a planned reduction in sales to its rental operation. […]
This is my gut feeling, my opinion based on what I have been reading and watching in the news like everyone else. The world is trying to figure out if President Trump is going to start a trade war and the first bullets are made with flat rolled steel, pipe and long products. I am […]
With the threat of a Section 232 decision in favor of the domestic steel mills looming over the market, Steel Market Update (SMU) has decided to take our Price Momentum Indicator from Neutral to Higher. It is our opinion conditions are in place to push flat rolled steel prices even higher from their current levels. […]
Happy Independence Day Weekend for those in the United States and Happy Dominion Day (150 years) for those in Canada. I hope everyone is enjoying some extra time off with family and friends. From here all is quiet – the only news we have to share is a change in the date of our next […]
An explanation of the Key Market Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. This will explain the difference between our view of the present situation, which is subjective, and our analysis of trends, which is based on the latest facts available. In the June […]
Holiday Schedule for Steel Market Update: We will produce a short version of our newsletter on Sunday evening, July 2. We will not produce a newsletter on Tuesday, July 4, and our offices will be closed on both Monday and Tuesday of next week in observance of the Fourth of July Holiday in the USA and […]
Last week, Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted an analysis of the flat rolled steel market trends. As part of that process, we asked the 100+ companies who responded to our inquiries if quotas or tariffs would be good or bad for their company. We found the majority of the mostly manufacturers and service centers responding […]
Low housing inventory continues to drive up home prices for U.S. consumers. The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index reported an annual gain of 5.5 percent in April, down from 5.6 percent in March. The 20-City Index increased 5.7 percent year-over-year compared to the previous month. The gains in April were slightly lower […]
,Good evening from New York City (or good morning if you are reading this in the AM). I have been in the city since Sunday evening meeting with manufacturers, service centers, trading companies, steel mills and some of the financial community. The conversations started with one word – Section – and then three numbers – […]
Last week, Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted one of our flat rolled steel market trends analyses as we surveyed manufacturing companies, service centers, steel mills, trading companies and toll processors. During the process, we inquired as to whether our respondents felt the newest round (and any more to come) of steel price increases were “justified.” […]
New home sales in May rebounded after an April decline to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000, an increase of 2.9 percent. Median sales price increased to $345,800 and the average sales price was $406,400. Median sales price reached a record high, up 16.6 percent from a year ago. Inventory at the end of […]
I am at 35,000 feet and, according to the monitor in front of me, we are traveling at 564 miles per hour and are located over the state of Utah. After working with a great group of attendees at our California Steel 101 program, I am on my way to New York City, where Tim […]
The sentiment among buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel remains largely positive, according to Steel Market Update’s latest steel market analysis, although it has dipped a bit in the past month as the industry awaits a ruling on Section 232 and whether the government will further restrict steel imports on the basis of national […]
Steel mill flat rolled lead times, which have generally trended downward this spring, my be showing early signs of lengthening, reflecting new strength in demand for domestic steel products. Mills were successful in collecting a price increase earlier in the month. Despite SMU data that shows service center inventories at “comfortable” levels, some distributors may […]
Steel buyers report that mills are considerably less willing to negotiate prices on spot orders than they were a month, or even two weeks, ago. The findings of the latest SMU survey of service centers and manufacturers indicates that only about half find mills willing to negotiate on hot roll spot buys, compared with more […]
Existing home sales climbed 1.1 percent in May, reports the National Association of Realtors. Sales rebounded to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.62 million from a downwardly revised 5.56 million in April. May sales are 2.7 percent higher than a year ago and at the third highest level for the past year. Low inventory […]
The Steel Market Update Steel Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained negative this week for the ninth consecutive week, following an eight week streak of being in positive territory. MoMo is a trailing indicator and shows the relationship between the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]
Last month Steel Market Update forecast steel shipments of carbon flat rolled would total 2,322,000 tons and, according to the MSCI data released last week, shipments were 3,319,000 tons. We missed the number by 3,000 tons… Our forecast called for flat rolled inventories to total 4,344,000 tons at the end of May. We were off […]
Vehicle sales in the U.S. averaged 17.1 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) per month in the first five months of 2017, down from 18.1 million in Q4 2016. March, April and May sales were each below 17.0 million units SAAR for the first time since June last year. In May, light […]