I am getting excited by the progress we are making on our September Steel Summit conference. I have been talking to as many manufacturing companies, service centers, steel mills and trading companies as we strive to put on an exceptional program with quality speakers who will provide valuable content. Easy to say, not so easy […]
For the first time since Steel Market Update began surveying the flat rolled steel industry, a majority of our respondents are reporting demand as “improving.” As you can see by the timeline shown in the graphic below, the optimistic trend for demand growth began to pick up steam during late 1st Quarter 2014 and momentum […]
Building permit values in Canada decreased for the second consecutive month, falling 3 percent in March after an 11.3 percent decrease in February. Value of building permits totaled $6 billion. The decrease in building permit values surprised economists at Royal Bank of Canada who expected a 4 percent rebound in March. A plunge in non-residential sector permits […]
According to Baker Hughes data from May 9th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,855 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 1 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 1 to 1,528 rigs, gas rigs unchanged at 323 rigs, and […]
Last week was a busy week with scrap prices for May coming into focus, our beginning of May flat rolled steel survey having been completed and getting more information about the possible sale of the Severstal NA assets made for an interesting week. On top of that SMU conducted one of our Steel 101 workshops. […]
Buyers and sellers of steel continue to grow in their belief that their company will be successful in both the existing market as well as out into the future. A new record high for our Index was achieved this week as our Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel Buyers Sentiment Index was measured at +59. This […]
Steel Market Update conducted our early May flat rolled steel market survey this week and the results are raising some questions as to whether the tightness in supply is beginning to abate. We found hot rolled lead times as shrinking half a week and cold rolled a little more than what we had reported from […]
The domestic steel mills continue to be united in their approach to negotiating flat rolled steel pricing. Based on data collected this week from our flat rolled steel market survey, we found that only 30 percent of the respondents were reporting the domestic mills as willing to negotiate hot rolled steel pricing. This is up […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S was positive this week for the 5th week in a row after being in negative territory for the prior 10 weeks. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current hot rolled coil (HRC) […]
You can expect to begin to read a lot of articles calling for prices “peaking” or about the subject of where do prices go from here. The expectation is that prices will move lower and everyone will have an opinion or theory as to why this will happen. Others will make the case for sideways […]
Our Steel 101 workshop spent the afternoon touring Severstal Dearborn. As the class climbed catwalks and peaked at molten steel I spent most of the afternoon in the executive offices meeting with the mill’s CEO Saikat Dey.This was my first opportunity to meet with Mr. Dey and I found him to be intelligent, charming and […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) flat rolled steel price indices all saw very large double digit increases from the beginning to the conclusion of April 2014. Steel Market Update provides a range for our readers from low to high with the average being our indexed number for the product. We saw benchmark hot rolled prices increasing […]
Gibraltar Industries, a leading manufacturer and distributor of building products, reported a net loss of $1.7 million for first quarter 201. Net sales of $191.0 slipped from $196.8 million in first quarter 2013 due to severe winter conditions. “Although Gibraltar’s first-quarter sales were lower than expected due to the prolonged winter season in most parts […]
The following article is a continuation of our Steel Buyers Basics series written by Mario Briccetti. Mario is Principal of Briccetti & Associates, a Supply Chain consulting firm, and can be reached at Mario@mbriccetti.com In my series of articles, I have stressed that buyers should have the best information possible in order to effectively negotiate pricing […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its construction put in place (CPIP) data on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. March data was released on May 1st. Total Construction March expenditures were $69.142 billion which breaks down to $51.210 B of private work, $16.064 B state and locally financed and $1.868 B […]
According to Baker Hughes data from May 2nd, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,854 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is a decrease of 7 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 7 to 1,527 rigs, gas rigs unchanged at 323 rigs, and […]
We will begin our beginning of May steel market survey early on Monday morning and will keep it open until Thursday afternoon of this week. If you receive an invitation, please take a moment to click on the link which will take you to SurveyMonkey.com which hosts our questionnaire. Those who participate in our survey […]
Will 2014 be a breakthrough year for construction? That was the premise of a webinar presented by Reed Construction Data paneled by Bernie Markstein, US chief economist at Reed Construction Data; Kermit Baker, chief economist at the American Institute of Architects (AIA); and Ken Simonson, chief economist at Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The […]
Flat rolled steel mills have become less willing to negotiate flat rolled steel spot prices with their customers. During the analysis of the flat rolled steel market conducted by Steel Market Update earlier this week, we found large adjustments in negotiations on hot rolled pricing as well as spot galvanized steel pricing. Cold rolled actually […]
From the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC): Total construction spending remained in a holding pattern in March as strong gains in apartment construction and modest growth in home building and private nonresidential activity offset falling public outlays, according to an analysis of new Census Bureau data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). […]
Automotive sales were encouraging in April, with most auto manufacturers posting positive gains year over year. WardsAuto reports sales totaled 1.37 million units compared to 1.18 million in April 2013. Sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 16.0 million for the second consecutive month. Consumers demand is supported by low interest rates and […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S was positive this week for the 4th week in a row after being in negative territory for the prior 10 weeks. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current hot rolled coil (HRC) […]
A quick Final Thoughts this evening as I am in Chicago for the Metals Industry Boy Scout Dinner. For those of you who have interesting sales stories from your steel career or otherwise, I am interested in collecting sales related stories/advice, etc. Please send your comments or stories to me at: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com. A reminder that […]
One of the products which is provided to our Premium Level members only is our Key Market Indicators. Our KMI analysis is showing an improving (more positives than negatives) situation, especially in the flat rolled steel markets. An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers […]
My final thoughts will be relatively short and sweet this evening. I have begun to follow Chris Kuehl (pronounced keel) of Armada Corporate Intelligence. I first saw Chris speak at the FMA Toll Processing Conference in Austin, Texas and I was impressed. I suggest to my readers that they consider registering for a free trial […]
“It’s an understatement to say that the first quarter was challenging for General Motors,” said CEO Mary Barra in GM’s first quarter conference call. So far, Barra says the negative publicity surrounding the ongoing investigation into the recall of 7 million vehicles with faulty ignition switches has not had any meaningful affect on sales. GM […]
According to Baker Hughes data from April 25th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,861 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 30 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 24 to 1,534 rigs, gas rigs up 7 to 323 rigs, […]
With the various flat rolled indexes reporting hot rolled pricing approaching $680 per ton in the mill spot market we are quite close to the $685 announced by Nucor on April 4th and matched by a number of the domestic steel mills. The question now is will the mills attempt to move prices up to […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S was positive this week for the 3rd week in a row after being in negative territory for the prior 10 weeks. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current hot rolled coil (HRC) […]
Caterpillar reported that, excluding restructuring costs, earnings were flat in first quarter compared to first quarter 2013. Sales and revenues totaled $13.241 billion. North American sales for Machinery, Energy & Transportation were up 16 percent year over year to $5,219 million in the first quarter of 2014. Construction industry sales were up 36 percent to […]