Global steel production in February reached an annual rate of 1.647 billion metric tons (Mt). Capacity is calculated to be 2.4 billion Mt and capacity utilization in February was 73.0 percent, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis of World Steel Association data. In three months through February, Chinese production grew by 8.8 percent […]
After declining for three straight months, The Conference Board’s measure of consumer confidence surged in February, only to give back most of that gain in March. The composite value of consumer confidence in March was 124.1, down from 131.4 in February. The 3MMA (three-month moving average) decreased from 126.6 in February to 125.7 in March, […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive-level subscribers in this issue. For more information on upgrading to a Premium-level membership, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com In April, consumer confidence gained back most of the March decline. The Conference Board’s measure of consumer confidence declined each month from November through January, surged in February, gave back […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen The 13th National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s Parliament, concluded its annual two-week meeting in March. The NPC is arguably the most important policy meeting in China because it is when key macroeconomic targets are announced together with the policies required to support them. This year’s NPC has drawn attention […]
In many Chicago-area neighborhoods, teens face intense pressure to join a gang and embrace a lifestyle of crime and violence. But some find their way into an unlikely rival gang, one that has been promoting integrity and achievement for more than a century—the Boy Scouts of America. With support from the metals industry, the Boy […]
The February Architecture Billings Index, a leading indicator of construction activity, dipped to 50.3 in February from 55.6 in January. Billings growth softened last month, said the American Institute of Architects, but indicators of work in the pipeline, including inquiries into new projects and the value of new design contracts, remained positive. “Overall business conditions […]
“Your tank broke down? No problem, we’ll just 3-D print a steel replacement part.” Someday this scenario may be a reality for U.S. Army technicians in the field. Researchers at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory are working on a process that will take powdered steel and transform it with lasers […]
A bill to address the nation’s labor shortage looks to immigrant workers to fill jobs in the United States. The Workforce for an Expanding Economy Act, introduced by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.), would create a federal immigration visa system that would allow immigrant laborers to do year-round, non-farm work after the government approves both the […]
Orders for manufactured durable goods increased for the third month in a row, gaining 0.4 percent in January despite economists’ predictions of a decline. Orders were driven by an increase in transportation orders, especially orders for civilian aircraft, which grew 15.9 percent. Excluding the volatile transportation category, durable goods orders declined 0.1 percent. Core capital […]
Editor’s note: Jim Burg will be a panelist at Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit Conference Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. The U.S. economy is dependent on trucks. Trucking moves 50 percent of U.S. GDP. Seventy percent of all freight can only reach consumers by truck. Trucking employs 7.3 million workers of which 3.8 million are truck […]
February’s employment report was not all bad news in spite of the surprisingly low job creation result. Net job creation in February at first glance was terrible, but our analysis of Friday’s reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was not so bad. Job creation in February, at just 20,000, was far below […]
U.S. economic activity continued to expand in late January and February, but might have expanded more were it not for the government shutdown and harsh winter weather conditions, reports the Federal Reserve in its March 6 Beige Book. Ten of the Fed Districts reported slight-to-moderate growth, while Philadelphia and St. Louis reported flat economic conditions. […]
A much weaker than expected jobs report showed that only 20,000 jobs were added in the U.S. last month. The unemployment rate was 3.8 percent, dipping from 4.0 percent in January, according to the latest report from Commerce. Average earnings rose 0.4 percent in February for a year-over-year gain of 3.4 percent. In the construction […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium content with all its readers in this issue. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. U.S. economic growth slowed to 2.6 percent in fourth-quarter 2018, down from 3.4 percent in the third quarter, according to the initial estimate of […]
It is now the beginning of March and time to take a look back at the month of February to see what happened to pricing and trends that impact pricing. The SMU Pricing Momentum Indicator for flat rolled steel was adjusted to higher and our SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index rose when looked at as […]
Global manufacturing growth hit a 32-month low in February. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI dipped to 50.6 from 50.8 the previous month. Operating conditions expanded in the consumer and investment goods sector but deteriorated in the intermediate goods sector, said J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit. International trade was blunted as new export orders fell […]
Manufacturing activity slowed its rate of growth in February, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The headline PMI fell further than expected last month, coming in at 54.2, a 2.4 point decline, and below the general consensus of 55.0. “Production expansion continued in February, but at a slower pace compared to January,” […]
Global steel production in January was at an annual rate of 1.760 billion metric tons (Mt). Capacity is calculated to be 2.4 billion Mt and capacity utilization in January was 74.0 percent, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis of World Steel Association data. In three months through January, China grew by 7.8 percent […]
Consumer confidence rebounded in February as the negative effect of the government shutdown receded. The Conference Board measure of consumer confidence declined each month November through January and surged in February. It appears that the shutdown had a major effect on consumers’ expectations, but not so much on their perception of the present situation. The […]
The American Iron and Steel Institute and the Steel Manufacturers Association are among more than 200 companies and trade associations that have formed the USMCA Coalition to push for prompt congressional approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, the updated version of NAFTA. “We look forward to working with members of the USMCA Coalition to support […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison U.S. economic data for December and January are beginning to come in now that the federal government is funded for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. December housing starts showed a weak end to 2018 as the total of 1.247 million units for 2018 was […]
The MNI Chicago Business Barometer gained 8 points in February, climbing to 64.7, its highest level since December 2017. The February spike in business activity followed a decline to 56.7 in January. New orders rose 15.2 points and production gained 8.5 points. Order backlogs lengthened after declining in January. Supplier delivery times declined for a […]
The secondary steel business is shrinking. Not only are quality-conscious mills producing fewer nonprime coils, there are fewer distributors in the business of buying them and fewer customers interested in using them. Steel Market Update interviewed several veterans of the secondary steel market, who all agreed the business is changing—and not always for the better. […]
Like the prime steel market, secondary steel is suffering from indecisiveness among buyers who feel uncertain about tariffs and trade and their effects on the economy. Secondary steel is nonprime or excess material that did not meet the specifications for its original intended use. Mills offer the material at a discount to service centers, who […]
A delayed report on manufactured durable goods showed new orders increased 1.2 percent in December, due mostly to orders for transportation. Excluding transportation, new orders rose just 0.1 percent. Orders for core capital goods, which exclude defense and aircraft and are considered a measure of business investment, dropped unexpectedly by 0.7 percent after a downward […]
Economic indicators of manufacturing activity are strong, though the growth rate is slowing. This report summarizes 11 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 brief in this […]
The following statement was extracted from the Federal Reserve website: “Effective on Feb. 4, 2019, the Federal Reserve Board staff has made major changes to the methodology used to construct the trade-weighted dollar indexes in the H.10, G.5, and G.5A releases. These changes affect the calculation of index weights and country composition. The new dollar […]
SMU has updated the steel capacity chart that was published on Thursday to reflect new information obtained and to correct some errors regarding tonnage (metric to net tons). Here is the revised chart. If you know of any new steel capacity coming on line, please let us know and we will continue to update the […]
Manufacturers in New York State report that business activity improved in February. The general business index of The Empire State Manufacturing survey rose five points to post 8.8 after falling the previous two months. Indexes for new orders and shipments remained strong in February. The index for new orders climbed four points to 7.5, while […]
Employment gains were unexpectedly strong in January. The January employment release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) included huge historical revisions. We re-entered our data back to January 2010, but found that revisions extended even further back in time. Net job creation in January as reported by the BLS on Friday was 303,000, […]