Covid-19 continues to spread globally, now detected in at least 103 countries. More than 80,000 cases have been reported in the epicenter of China and worldwide more than 114,500 people have been infected. The number of deaths reported has jumped to over 4,000. Testing for the virus has been slow in the U.S. as the […]
Crowe, a public accounting, consulting and technology firm, will host a workshop–“Technology Strategies: How Metals Companies are Making Digital Transformation a Reality”–as part of the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference. The workshop will be held at the Marriott Gateway Hotel next to the Georgia International Convention Center on Monday, Aug. 24, just prior to the […]
In February, job creation beat expectations, and there is no sign of a virus effect even in the details. Net job creation in February was a surprising 273,000. In addition, December was revised up by 37,000 and January up by 48,000. Rising employment and wages are the main contributors to GDP growth because personal consumption […]
February’s employment report showed a turnaround in manufacturing, while construction continued to boom. The net increase in employed persons was 273,000 in February, the same as an upwardly revised result for January. In February, 42,000 jobs were created in construction and 15,000 jobs in manufacturing. The private sector gained 228,000 jobs in February and government […]
Thomas Gibson, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, will retire this fall. A search for his successor begins immediately. Gibson has led AISI since September 2008. Under his leadership, the institute successfully advocated for legislation to strengthen the trade laws against unfair trade practices and level the playing field for steel […]
Now a rising concern in the U.S., the coronavirus is not only a tragic pandemic but a major economic disruption. The public is now invited to join the CRU Webinar: “How COVID-19 is affecting CRU’s outlook for 2020,” hosted by CRU economic and commodity experts and recorded on March 5. Click below to view additional […]
The coronavirus has begun to affect business in the United States, according to the latest Federal Reserve “Beige Book.” The economy is moving forward at a modest to moderate pace, but growth is uneven. The virus appears to be negatively impacting travel and tourism in the U.S., which showed only moderate to flat growth in […]
In just a few weeks from the first known case, the COVID-19 outbreak has wreaked havoc on the global manufacturing sector. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI posted a steep decline in February, falling to 47.2 from 50.4 in January, its lowest level since May 2009. New orders and production fell at record rates in […]
U.S. manufacturing activity grew only slightly in February, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The Institute for Supply Management reported that the February PMI decreased 0.8 points to 50.1, just above the no-change mark of 50. The PMI for new orders fell into contraction at 49.8, while production dropped four points to […]
Looking back at the numbers for February, flat rolled steel prices declined from January, with the benchmark price of hot rolled dipping to a monthly average of $576 per ton. Steel Market Update’s Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indexes showed some erosion, likely as a response to the weak steel prices and concerns over […]
The Chicago Business Barometer nearly emerged from contraction in February. The manufacturing index, produced by MNI Indicators, gained 6.1 points to post 49.0, the highest level since August 2019. The three-month average for the index edged up to 46.7. Production reached an eight-month high, gaining 8.3 points to register 51.0 after seven straight months below […]
World crude steel production totaled 154.4 million metric tons in January, a 2.1 percent increase compared to January 2019, reported the World Steel Association in Brussels. China’s crude steel production for January totaled 84.3 million tons, an increase of 7.2 percent compared to January 2019. Steel output in February will be hurt by the COVID-19 […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For more information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The Conference Board report of consumer confidence through mid-February does not reveal undue concern about the coronavirus, but that will change rapidly if the news continues to worsen. The composite value […]
Durable goods orders edged down 0.2 percent in January as defense orders sharply decreased from their surge in December. Defense capital goods plummeted 39.8 percent after an 87.4 percent increase the previous month, the Census Bureau reported today. Orders for transportation slid 2.2 percent in January after gaining 8.8 percent in December. Excluding the volatile […]
Metalforming companies continue to be optimistic about the economy, according to the February 2020 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. When asked to predict economic activity for the next three months, 30 percent of members surveyed said they expect an improvement, down from 32 percent in January. Only 10 percent expect a decline. The […]
Domestic mills won back market share from imports in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Even though the steel market contracted by 1.9 percent in 2019, shipments by U.S. mills to domestic locations increased by 2.9 percent as imports declined. Table 1 shows 13 years of history of total steel supply to the U.S. market in short […]
If the coronavirus leads to a global pandemic, it will severely disrupt steel production. Figure 1 shows annualized monthly global steel production on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis and capacity utilization since January 2000. Based on OECD data (see below), the 3MMA for capacity utilization in January was 83.0 percent, down from 88.2 percent […]
Sky Island Capital, a Dallas-based private equity firm, has made a majority investment in Polished Metals Limited alongside the founding Lazarus family. Headquartered in Hillside, N.J., Polished Metals is one of the country’s largest polishers and suppliers of architectural and ornamental metals, offering a variety of finishes and metals to several end markets, including the […]
A surge in business activity in New York State surprised economists in February. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey’s general business index shot up eight points for a reading of 12.9, well above the forecast consensus of 4.0 and posting its highest level since May 2019. Business conditions improved across the board except for a softening […]
Based on our analysis of 10 economic indicators, the decline in manufacturing slowed in February’s data. This report summarizes 10 data streams that describe the state of U.S. manufacturing in general and the steel industry in particular. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications, and therefore will be […]
In this report we examine the change in currency values of the 16 pre-eminent global steel and iron ore trading nations. The U.S. dollar has strengthened against 10 of the 16 currencies in the last three months. In January we replaced the British pound in this report with the Vietnamese dong in recognition that Vietnam […]
In three months through December, demand for total rolled products declined by 6.1 percent. This Premium analysis by Steel Market Update is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import-export data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). It is meant as a more in-depth look compared […]
Net job creation in January was an encouraging 225,000, up from 147,000 in November, but down from the exceptional result of 261,000 in October. In the January report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) made substantial historical revisions. In this SMU analysis, we revised our data back to January 2017. Rising employment and wages are […]
January’s employment report was a downer for manufacturing, but construction was particularly strong. The net increase in employed persons was 225,000 in January, of which 108,000 were in health, education and leisure activities. In January, 44,000 jobs were created in construction and 12,000 jobs lost in manufacturing. The private sector gained 206,000 jobs in January […]
By CRU’s China Steel Team, with Senior Analysts Richard Lu and Erik Hedborg. On Monday, Feb. 3, financial markets and commodity trade resumed after the extended Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday caused by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Equity markets fell sharply as fears of economic slowdown prompted investors to push the sell button. […]
Manufacturing grew in January along with the overall economy, reported the Institute for Supply Management. ISM’s January PMI gained 3.1 points from December to register 50.9, above the crucial no-change mark of 50. New orders and production pulled from contraction to post respective index readings of 52.0 percent and 54.3 percent for the month, said […]
Global manufacturing performed slightly better in January, according the latest J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI. The composite PMI rose to a nine-month high of 50.4 from December’s reading of 50.1, although only slightly above the no-growth mark of 50.0. Consumer and intermediate goods led the increase as investment goods continued to contract further. Output rose […]
As advanced as steelmaking has become, producing steel is still an inherently carbon- and energy-intensive process. Steel mills in the United States and the rest of the world find themselves in the crosshairs of the many environmental and political groups now calling for dramatic steps to reduce harmful air emissions and slow the pace of […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison and Economist Anissa Chabib, from CRU’s Economic Outlook CRU Economics ran its fourth annual survey to gauge our clients’ expectations of economic conditions for 2020. We elicited responses across CRU’s full product portfolio and received information from 182 clients, working in 41 different countries. This feature presents the results […]
Both steel and scrap prices increased in the month of January, raising with them optimism levels over market conditions one month into the new year. The average price for hot rolled steel rose by about $30 per ton in January. The benchmark price for hot rolled peaked at $610 per ton in mid-January, but ended the […]