Kevin Dempsey has taken the reins as the chief executive at the American Iron and Steel Institute at a challenging and unprecedented time. Indeed, helping AISI’s steel mill members navigate an economy hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost on his agenda, he said in an interview with Steel Market Update on […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen, from the Steel Sheet Products Market Outlook There is widespread agreement that the dollar is overvalued by around 10 percent. CRU expects the trade weighted dollar (TW$) to remain overvalued and broadly stable for the rest of 2020, as pandemic uncertainty continues to support the dollar as a “safe-haven” […]
Steel buyers are split on whether the government will need to shut down parts of the economy once again to get the spread of the coronavirus under control. In this week’s check of the market, Steel Market Update asked: Are you or your company concerned about the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in the South […]
In stark contrast to the mostly bad news related to the coronavirus pandemic, the North American steel industry is celebrating the new USMCA trade agreement that took effect last week. “Entry into force of the USMCA represents a significant achievement by the United States, Canada and Mexico that will benefit the North American steel industry […]
The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI) increased in June, further stabilizing from sharp declines in recent months. The index now stands at 49.05, up from 45.27 in May. However, the index is still down 54.8 percent from a year ago. “The Employment Trends Index increased for the second consecutive month, but the virus’s recent […]
The U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs in June, exceeding analysts’ expectations once again, according to data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. May’s job gain was revised up by 160,000 to 2,699,000. Figure 1 shows the total number of nonfarm workers in the U.S. since 1990. The net loss since February’s all-time […]
The U.S. manufacturing sector is gaining strength after months of contraction, say supply executives surveyed in the June Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The June PMI jumped 9.5 points to 52.6 indicating an expansion in the overall economy for a second straight month. “June signifies manufacturing entering an expected expansion cycle after the disruption caused […]
Manufacturing and construction both saw positive growth in employment in June. The net change in employed persons was negative 20.8 million in April followed by positive 2.7 million in May and positive 4.8 million in June. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most […]
Global manufacturing contraction eased in June as indices rose steeply, marking the second month of upward trajectory. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose to 47.8 but remained below the 50.0 neutral mark. Milder rates of decline for new orders and production were cited as the world recovers from a recession exacerbated by the global […]
Steel prices rose in the beginning of June, following May price increase announcements by the mills, but began to decline in the middle of the month and reached $480 per ton as of this week. Scrap prices were flat to down over May, while zinc and aluminum prices increased in June. SMU Buyers Sentiment Index […]
The Chicago Business Barometer rose to 36.6 in June as economic activity returned with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, said MNI Indicators.. The production index jumped 10.1 points from May as demand strengthened by 33.8 percent. Order backlogs were at a two-month high, gaining five points in June. Inventories plummeted 24.7 percent after emerging from […]
In May, China’s crude steel production hit 92.3 million metric tons, an all-time high, despite the coronavirus pandemic. On June 24, the OECD released its updated report of steel production capacity by nation: “Global steelmaking capacity (in nominal crude terms) decreased from 2015 to 2018, but the latest available information (as of December 2019) suggests […]
Keith Gunter, 62, a steel industry veteran and vice president of purchasing at McElroy Metal in Bossier City, La., died this week after a short but courageous battle with cancer. “Keith was a respected leader within the company and a valuable member of McElroy’s executive team,” said Ian McElroy, company president. “His skills, abilities and […]
The Architecture Billings Index remained in contraction in May with a score of 32.0 following a record drop in billings in April, said the American Institute of Architects. Although the monthly scores moderated slightly, billings continued to decrease, inquiries continued to decline and the value of newly signed contracts remained at near record-lows. The projects […]
Orders for durable goods leapt 15.8 percent to $194.4 billion in May after plunging a revised 18.1 percent in April. The increase exceeded expectations and indicates the economy is in recovery, though orders are still well below pre-COVID levels. Transportation orders surged 80.7 percent, primarily due to a rebound in automotive orders. Motor vehicle and […]
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee gave its approval to the INVEST in America Act on Friday, moving forward a measure that would fund much needed infrastructure work, create thousands of jobs and help the economy recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The measure is widely supported by the steel industry, as construction […]
The term “sustainability” is most often associated with environmentalism. True to the word, U.S. Steel’s 2019 Sustainability Report details the steelmaker’s mission to reduce its global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity by 20 percent over the next decade. But what makes a company’s success “sustainable” over the long term goes far beyond environmental considerations, said […]
The U.S. dollar weakened against 13 of the 16 steel and raw materials trading nation currencies in the last 30 days, which follows a decline against 11 in our previous report. The biggest change was in the value of the Brazilian real, which led the pack of strengthening currencies. Experts suggest that the coronavirus pandemic […]
New York manufacturing conditions stabilized in June after two months of record decline. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business index climbed 48.5 points to register -0.2, well outpacing economic forecasts for a reading between -27 and -35. Thirty-six percent of firms surveyed indicated business conditions had improved, compared to 15 percent in May. New […]
Metalforming companies are finally feeling optimistic about the economy and business conditions. After a difficult several months under the coronavirus pandemic, the June 2020 Precision Metalforming Association Business Conditions Report found 53 percent of survey respondents expect economic activity to improve in the next three months, up from 22 percent in May. A spike in […]
It’s time to register for CRU’s 5th Annual New York Steel Briefing. The event, now virtual due to the coronavirus, will feature CRU analysts sharing their outlooks for steel and how to manage through volatile markets. Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 Time: 10:00 – 11:00 AM EST Overview: The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption across domestic […]
It’s not too late to register for CRU’s 5th Annual New York Steel Briefing. The event, now virtual due to the coronavirus, will feature CRU analysts sharing their outlooks for steel and how to manage through volatile markets. Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 Time: 10:00 – 11:00 AM EST Overview: The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption […]
It’s time to register for CRU’s 5th Annual New York Steel Briefing. The event, now virtual due to the coronavirus, will feature CRU analysts sharing their outlooks for steel and how to manage through volatile markets. Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 Time: 10:00 – 11:00 AM EST Overview: The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption across domestic […]
The World Steel Association (worldsteel) expects steel demand to contract by 5.4 percent in 2020 to 1.654 billion metric tons. The latest Short Range Outlook forecasts a recovery to 1.717 billion tons in 2021, a 3.8 percent increase over this year. Commenting on the outlook, Chairman of the worldsteel Economics Committee Al Remeithi said: “The […]
Join us for CRU’s 5th Annual New York Steel Briefing, now virtual, featuring the outlook for steel and how to manage through volatile markets. Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 Time: 10:00 – 11:00 AM EST Overview: The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption across domestic and global commodity markets, with steel among those most impacted. With scenarios for a post-pandemic outlook […]
Some companies are faring better than others during the coronavirus pandemic, and ecommerce B2B platform Reibus is one of them. “Nothing much happened in the last couple weeks of March and the first couple weeks of April, but since then we have been doing great. We’re well ahead of budget for the year despite COVID-19,” […]
Census Bureau data for downstream steel product shipments lags but supports American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data for crude steel production. The Census Bureau provides monthly data on manufacturing inventories, shipments and new orders for total U.S. manufacturing and for individual industries, one of which is steel products. Therefore, the Census Bureau provides a […]
There was positive net job creation in May following April’s disastrous report. The May jobs report was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, after which the N.Y. Times reported: “Employers added 2.5 million jobs in May, defying economists’ expectations of further losses and offering hope that the rebound from the pandemic-induced economic […]
In May, manufacturing gained back 17 percent of April’s job losses, while construction gained back 47 percent, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The net change in employed persons was negative 20.7 million in April and positive 2.5 million in May. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries […]
Rates of contraction eased in the latest analysis of global manufacturing by J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose to 42.4 in May from 39.6 in April, but remained well in contraction territory. “Rates of contraction for many of the survey variables, including output, new orders, new export business, quantity […]