The U.S. labor market finished 2018 on a strong note. December was the first month ever for total nonfarm payrolls to exceed 150 million, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Unlike the Commerce Department and Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) remains funded under the current government shutdown. […]
Perhaps it’s because the year started out with so much promise that the end of 2018 seemed so uninspiring. On balance, most in the steel business would call 2018 a good year, some even a great year. But few look forward to 2019 with the same optimism and confidence they felt a year ago at […]
Job growth in 2018 shattered expectations, adding 312,000 jobs to the economy in December and 2.6 million for the year. Wages increased 3.9 percent after years of marginal growth, due in part to the shrinking labor pool available to fill vacancies. The construction industry saw unemployment decrease to a historic low of 5.1 percent in […]
The Association of Women in the Metal Industries (AWMI) will have new leadership beginning in 2019. Sonya Malvick was elected president of AWMI at the organization’s annual conference in St. Petersburg, Fla., in November. Malvick is a 25-year veteran of the steel industry, beginning her career at Zalk Joseph Fabricators and later moving to the […]
The year ended on a cautionary note with steel demand, prices and buyers’ sentiment showing downward momentum in December. Prices for flat rolled products continued their fourth-quarter declines with hot rolled dipping to $754, cold rolled to $865 and galvanized to $931 in December. Plate is the notable exception, holding steady around $1,000 per ton, […]
Manufacturing activity in the U.S. continued to expand in December, but at a much lower pace, according to the latest ISM Report on Business. The December PMI fell 5.2 percentage points to 54.1 with indexes for new orders slipping 11 points and production slipping 5.3 points from November. The average PMI score for 2018 was […]
Global manufacturing slid to its lowest level in 27 months, falling from a PMI of 52.0 in November to 51.5 in December, according to the latest J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI). Manufacture of consumer goods was the only bright spot in December, growing to an eight-month high. Investment and intermediate goods were […]
Twas the night before Christmas 2017 Steel buyers were happy All nestled in their beds No thoughts of turmoil running about in their heads Little did they know Little did they dread 2018 was staring at them While dreams of sugar plums danced in their heads The last three months saw prices move […]
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. The U.S. has strengthened its position in the global scrap market since Q1 2016. This is an analysis that we perform quarterly. We believe […]
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. In three months through November year over year, China’s steel production grew 18 times faster than the rest of the world. (Not a typo!) […]
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. The growth of U.S. GDP in third-quarter 2018 came in at 3.36 percent, but the mix of contributors was concerning. On Friday, the Bureau […]
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. The U.S. dollar now has the highest value on the foreign exchange markets in over 16 years. In the last month, the dollar strengthened […]
The Architecture Billings Index remained positive in November and rose over four points to 54.7, according to the Wednesday release by the American Institute of Architects (AIA). This is the 14th consecutive month of increasing demand for architectural firms’ services and the strongest billings growth figure in 10 months. The project inquiries index rose to […]
Demand and pricing for nonprime or secondary steel products is a mixed bag, report Steel Market Update sources. Some segments of the secondary market are faring better than others. Lisa Goldenberg, president of Delaware Steel Co. of Pennsylvania, Fort Washington, Pa., reports recent weakness in secondary sales. With domestic mills running at 80 percent of […]
Trump administration tariffs will increase the tax burden on Americans, especially lower and middle-income households, and will cost the economy thousands of jobs, according to a new report from The Tax Foundation, a conservative-leaning tax policy research organization. Trump has placed tariffs on steel, aluminum, washing machines, and thousands of other products that American businesses […]
Business activity grew at a slower pace than in recent months in New York State, according to firms responding to the December 2018 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. Manufacturing firms surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that business activity continued to expand in December, though growth was noticeably slower than in recent […]
Demand for long products is booming, plate products are doing OK, sheet products are flat and tubulars are cratering. This analysis by SMU staff is based on data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). The analysis summarizes total steel supply by product from 2003 through October […]
The employment situation continues to be excellent with job opportunities higher than the total number of unemployed. Rising employment and wages are the main contributor to GDP growth because personal consumption accounts for almost 70 percent of GDP. Steel consumption is related to GDP; therefore, this is one of the indicators that helps us understand […]
Scrap Metal Services LLC has announced major changes in the roles of executive management. Effective Dec. 12, CEO Jeff Gertler and COO Rick Gertler have moved into board level positions as chairman and co-chairman of the company’s newly formed board of directors. The two will oversee financial performance, business development and relationship retention, but will […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to include the following Premium content in this Executive issue. For more information about upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Economic indicators of U.S. manufacturing activity are strong, though growth is slowing. This report summarizes 11 data streams that describe the state of U.S. manufacturing in general and the […]
Most Federal Reserve districts saw their economies expand at a modest to moderate pace in October and November, but tariffs remain a common concern among manufacturers, who report widespread escalation in the cost of inputs, such as steel. So far, selling prices have risen with less intensity than input costs, they say, suggesting that price […]
The U.S. economy is on track to grow further next year, say purchasing executives surveyed by the Institute for Supply Management, continuing the trend that began in mid-2009. In its December 2018 Semiannual Economic Forecast, ISM reported that the manufacturing sector is optimistic about business conditions in 2019, with revenues expected to increase in 17 […]
Planning for new commercial building projects drove a 5.3 percent increase for the Dodge Momentum Index, resulting in a reading of 159.7 in November. The Momentum Index is a monthly measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by […]
How long will this economic cycle last? That is the difficult question HARDInomics posed to Anirban Basu, Chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group. Currently, the economy is at the peak of an economic cycle, said Basu, and is experiencing a “49-year low in unemployment, a monthly job creation winning streak that is unprecedented, surging […]
U.S. gross domestic product grew in every region of the country in the second quarter of 2018, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data. The BEA introduced a new data set for GDP by state and region in 2014 and backdated it to Q1 2005. Last week, the data was updated through Q2 2018. Even […]
Indicators of economic activity in the U.S. do not predict an imminent recession, but the yield curve and housing permits should be on our radar screen. Steel Market Update has been producing this report every three months. We are now increasing the frequency to two months as the pundits are discussing the timing of the […]
By the CRU Group Economics Team The meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Trump on Dec. 1 turned out to be better than expected. According to the White House press release and Chinese official reports, tariffs will not rise from their current levels over the next 90 days. Both sides agreed to enter immediate […]
Demand remains strong in the manufacturing sector, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The PMI, from the Institute for Supply Management, increased 1.6 percentage points to 59.3 in November. A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion. New orders rose 4.7 points to 61.1, well above the 52.4 percent value that indicates growth. […]
Global manufacturing remained stalled in November. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI stayed at 52.0, unchanged from the 23-month low posted in October. Growth in new orders and production was subdued with the greatest expansion noted in the consumer sector. Improved business conditions were seen in the U.S, Eurozone, Japan, China, the UK, Brazil and […]
November saw steel prices continue to decline, with benchmark hot rolled dipping below $800 per ton, cold rolled below $900 per ton, and galvanized below $1,000 per ton. Plate continued to hold its own at over $1,000 per ton as mills kept customers on allocation while they worked to meet strong demand. Steel Market Update […]