Reibus, an online industrial marketplace, has expanded its footprint outside the United States with the hiring of Doug Thompson as its country leader for Canada. Thompson brings more than 30 years of steel manufacturing and supply chain experience to his new role. Most recently, he served as president of Coilplus Canada. “After having spent a […]
The U.S. economy added just 266,000 jobs in April, a disappointment following stronger-than-expected growth in February and March and well below earlier estimates, reported the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Although far fewer workers were added to the payroll than the 1.0 million forecast by economists, there were some notable job gains in leisure and hospitality, pointing […]
The U.S. labor market had a disappointing showing in April as employment’s recovery hit a snag. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that employers added just 266,000 workers to their payrolls in April, a far cry from the 770,000 new jobs added in March and 536,000 in February. Following the fastest gain in […]
U.S. steel product shipments rose by 1.9% in March after slipping by 1.7% the month prior. The rebound follows February’s decline—the first decrease since bottoming out in April 2020—which was attributed to seasonal factors. Shipments of manufactured durable goods saw a similar blip. March steel shipments posted a 9.9% increase when compared to March 2020, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, according […]
Ken Neumann, United Steelworkers National Director for Canada, will retire at the end of his term on March 1, 2022, after serving 18 years as director. “I am very proud of the work we have been able to accomplish as Steelworkers – we have improved the work lives, safety and well-being of hundreds of thousands […]
U.S. industrial production, manufacturing and durable goods orders continued to show improvement from the coronavirus pandemic downturn through March and April data. The health of the manufacturing economy has a direct bearing on the health of the steel industry. The Industrial Production Index The IP index is a gauge of output from factories, mines and […]
Global manufacturing accelerated in April, strengthening to its best reading since April 2010 for the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI. The PMI rose to 55.8 from 55.0 in March. Of the 24 nations covered by the index as of April 23, only the Philippines, Mexico and Myanmar remained in contraction. “The latest PMI surveys show […]
Join us for CRU’s Annual New York Steel Seminar featuring the outlook for steel and key considerations for navigating price volatility alongside the low carbon transition. Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2021 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT Despite the pandemic’s impact now easing on the steel industry, domestic and global steel markets continue to face […]
Join us for CRU’s Annual New York Steel Seminar featuring the outlook for steel and key considerations for navigating price volatility alongside the low carbon transition. Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2021 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT Despite the pandemic’s impact now easing on the steel industry, domestic and global steel markets continue to face uncertainty […]
Join us for CRU’s Annual New York Steel Seminar featuring the outlook for steel and key considerations for navigating price volatility alongside the low carbon transition. Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2021 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT Despite the pandemic’s impact now easing on the steel industry, domestic and global steel markets continue to face uncertainty […]
Join us for CRU’s Annual New York Steel Seminar featuring the outlook for steel and key considerations for navigating price volatility alongside the low carbon transition. Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2021 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT Despite the pandemic’s impact now easing on the steel industry, domestic and global steel markets continue to face uncertainty […]
Join us for CRU’s Annual New York Steel Seminar featuring the outlook for steel and key considerations for navigating price volatility alongside the low carbon transition. Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2021 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT Despite the pandemic’s impact now easing on the steel industry, domestic and global steel markets continue to face uncertainty […]
Join us for CRU’s Annual New York Steel Seminar featuring the outlook for steel and key considerations for navigating price volatility alongside the low carbon transition. Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2021 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EDT Despite the pandemic’s impact now easing on the steel industry, domestic and global steel markets continue to face uncertainty […]
Limited supply and strong demand continued to push steel prices higher throughout April, now the eighth consecutive month in which prices have increased. Hot rolled steel prices increased an average of $25 per ton each week, reaching $1,440 per ton by the end of April, exceeding any historical price by far. The SMU Price Momentum […]
The ISM Manufacturing Report on Business came in lower than expected in April. The PMI dipped four points to a reading of 60.7% as both the new orders and production indexes edged downward to 64.3% and 62.5%, respectively. A score above 50, however, indicates expansion, which means demand continued to improve in April. Fabricated metal […]
The Chicago Business Barometer reached its highest level since December 1983 with a PMI reading of 72.1, according to MNI Indicators. The April PMI rose 5.7 points from March, refuting economists’ expectations of a dip to 65. Demand was robust in April with the new orders index jumping 9.9 points to a near seven-year high. […]
U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 6.4% in the first quarter of 2021 on an annualized basis, according to the advanced estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The gain marks the second-fastest pace of growth since Q2 2003 and was exceeded only by the pandemic-reopening-fueled burst of Q3 in 2020. This growth […]
By CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett and Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook Our forecast for global growth in 2021 remains unchanged, with downward revisions to Europe, India and China being offset by upward revisions to other countries, principally the U.S. Although risks remain, we remain confident that the world will see […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen and Principal Economist Alex Tuckett from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook This month has seen strong signs that the speed of the recovery in the global industrial sector is feeding through to costs throughout the supply chain. Although this does present a risk to our forecast, our baseline case remains […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen and CRU Head of Fertilizers Chris Lawson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Commodity prices have continued an upwards tear in 2021. Steel and its raw materials have seen the sharpest gains, but less well-known commodities such as fertilizers are also attracting attention. With such steep price rises, calls for a […]
By CRU Consulting CEO Rebecca Gordon and Principal Consultant Alex Laugharne The increasing momentum behind transportation electrification is driving new supply chains to evolve rapidly. Historically, long and lean automotive supply chains led to cost efficiencies. The challenges of developing entirely new suppliers and embedding sustainability objectives mean: working with many completely new suppliers who […]
By CRU Research Manager Charlie Durant and Peter Ghilchik, CRU Head of Multi-Commodity Analysis 2021 is shaping up to be a year of economic recovery. CRU is forecasting the fastest annual growth in the world economy for 40 years, underpinned by successful vaccination programs and supportive fiscal and monetary policy. 3+1 Macro Themes In January, we […]
Orders for durable goods—products expected to last three years or more—recovered partially in March, increasing 0.5% after dipping 0.9% in February, said the Commerce Department on Monday. Orders for the month totaled $256.3 billion, increasing for the 10th time in the last 11 months, but at a much lower rate than the 2%-plus uplift expected by […]
Metalforming companies are optimistic about business conditions for the next three months, but are concerned about longer lead times for steel and other materials. In the April 2021 Business Conditions Report by the Precision Metalforming Association, 56% of participants expect improvement in economic activity in the next three months compared to 50% in March. Only […]
U.S. steel product shipments slipped in February by 1.7%, the first decrease since bottoming out in April 2020 when COVID nearly brought the economy to a standstill. Despite the decrease month on month, which may be due to seasonal factors, steel shipments have recovered to pre-pandemic volumes and posted an increase of 5.5% compared to February […]
The World Steel Association was cautiously optimistic in its April 2021 Short-Range Outlook published last week. The association expects steel demand to grow 5.8% this year, reaching 1.874 billion metric tons, after declining 0.2% during the pandemic in 2020. “Despite the disastrous impact of the pandemic on lives and livelihoods, the global steel industry was […]
The Steel Manufacturers Association applauds the Congressional Steel Caucus for their bi-partisan support of Buy America policies to fix America’s infrastructure. Said SMA President Philip Bell, “Yesterday, a bipartisan group of over 50 members of Congress affirmed that Buy America procurement policies that promote using steel made in America by Americans is a trade-compliant approach […]
New York manufacturers had a robust month in April with new orders and shipments accelerating. The Empire State Manufacturing general business index rose 9 points to 26.3, its highest level in more than two years. New orders soared nearly 18 points to 26.9 and the shipments index climbed to 25.0. Delivery times continued to lengthen, […]
Mill shipments of steel products fell 9.8% month on month in February, while apparent supply was down by 12.5% during the same period. This is the first noticeable decrease in both apparent supply and shipments of steel since the market reached bottom back in May 2020. Mill shipments were down by 13.1% year on year, […]
Spring has sprung including a bounce in economic activity, according to the latest Federal Reserve Beige Book. The April survey of federal districts showed a moderate increase in activity from auto sales to tourism, along with heightened optimism. Spring break, vaccine rollout and stimulus payments gave the tourism industry a boost from late February to […]