The Chicago Business Barometer retreated 2.3 points in November to 63.9, its lowest level in three months. Any number above 50, however, is an indicator of growth. The decrease followed October’s six-and-a-half year high, and economists expect the Barometer to finish the year continuing its 21 straight months of expansion. Output was robust in November, […]
The broad index value of the U.S. dollar has strengthened since Sept. 8, but in the last month the dollar has weakened against 13 of the 16 steel trading nations’ currencies. From Jan. 3 through Sept. 8, 2017, the Broad Index value of the U.S. dollar depreciated by 9.3 percent. The value rebounded by 2.9 […]
Economic indicators of manufacturing activity are still healthy overall and suggest conditions should remain positive for the balance of this year and into the first quarter of 2018. This report summarizes seven data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the U.S. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market […]
Metalforming manufacturers continue to be cautious in their three-month outlook as members watch NAFTA negotiations and trade actions with trepidation. The November Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report showed 30 percent of participants expecting improvement in economic activity in the next three months—the same percentage as October. Little change is expected in incoming orders […]
Consumer confidence increased for a fifth consecutive month and remains at at an extremely high level, reports The Conference Board. The composite value of consumer confidence in November was 129.5 up from 126.2 in October. The last nine months have each been better than at any time since 2001. The three-month moving average (3MMA) increased […]
New orders for manufactured durable goods declined 1.2 percent in October to $236.0 billion, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The decline was due mostly to plummeting orders for commercial aircraft, which fell 18.6 percent last month. Core capital goods (non-defense capital goods minus aircraft) declined 0.5 percent last month. Reuters […]
Gross domestic product grew in every region of the United States in the second quarter of 2017, 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. This week, the data was updated through Q2 2017. Even […]
Driven primarily by construction in the developing world, growth in global steel production continues to surge, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of World Steel Association data. Steel production in the month of October was 145,254,000 metric tons, up from 141,576,000 in September. Capacity utilization decreased from 73.5 percent to 72.9 percent. Production was […]
Keith Gunter, Vice President of Purchasing at McElroy Metal (and a part-time poet) shares his annual special holiday retrospective on the past year and his wishes for a prosperous 2018 for all. T’was soon to be Christmas, when all through the land, Pricing ought to be stable, wouldn’t that be so grand. During the fourth […]
Demand for architecture design services increased in October after contracting in September. The October Architecture Billings Index jumped to 51.7 from 49.1 the previous month, indicating a return to growth. The new projects index gained more than one point to 60.2, while new design contracts posted a reading of 52.9, compared to 52.8 in September. […]
More than 100 trade organizations representing a cross-section of U.S. business and industry sent a letter to USTR Robert Lighthizer on Tuesday urging the U.S. to maintain, and even extend, trucking provisions in the new NAFTA agreement. The trade groups called for the U.S. to permit Mexican carriers to haul freight further into the United […]
The Steel Market Development Institute has released “LEED v4 for Steel Products Used in Construction Applications,” a guide for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification program. “A rapidly-evolving green building industry and increasing demand for sustainability have led to a number of updates and a more […]
Have you ever seen the metal mushrooms that seem to be growing on Route 51 near Century III Mall in West Mifflin, Pa.? They are actually remnants of the Pittsburgh steel industry that dominated the industrial landscape in decades past. West Mifflin is the site of Brown’s Dump, a 410-acre slag dumping area used by […]
Chemcoaters and its Eco-Green Coatings subsidiary say they are winning over skeptics who doubt the company’s claims it can dramatically lower the cost of galvanized steel with its InterCoat ChemGuard coating. Mike Tieri, vice president of sales and marketing for the Gary, Ind., toll coater, says the product continues to gain converts. “There’s a Who’s […]
Speaking at the FABTECH Expo on Monday, Chris Kuehl of Armada Corporate Intelligence offered his unique perspective on the U.S. and global economies, including the following excerpts of his comments on jobs, trade issues and tax reform. Kuehl serves as the chief economist for the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, International (FMA), a sponsor of the […]
U.S. job creation rebounded in October from the blow it suffered in September due to the hurricanes, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in its employment report released on Friday. September hiring was severely affected by the Texas and Florida hurricanes, particularly in the hospitality industries in Florida. The October rebound was weaker than […]
Chinese steel production and consumption took a downturn in September, though they trended ahead of 2016 for the first three quarters of this year. China’s exports to the rest of the world are down considerably in 2017, however, according to data from the China Iron & Steel Association and Bradford Research. Year to date, China’s […]
House Republicans released details of their vision for tax reform on Thursday, raising many questions in constituents’ minds, the primary one being: What does this mean for us? The headline provisions of the bill—which its sponsors contend would simplify the tax code, provide tax relief to the middle class and spur economic growth—include cutting the […]
With the notable exception of AkzoNobel, leading suppliers of paint and coatings to the prepaint market have announced price hikes of 5-7 percent, effective in January. And some coil coaters and their customers are not happy about it. One prepaint buyer who closely tracks raw material costs questions whether the current hike is justified. “While […]
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is widely expected to attend the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity Nov. 30 in Berlin, though the USTR has made no official announcement of his participation. The forum will include representatives of the G20 nations, as well as other steel-producing countries, gathered to discuss concrete policy solutions to reduce […]
U.S. manufacturing slowed a bit from September but remained robust in October, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business from the Institute for Supply Management. The headline PMI registered 58.7 percent, a 2.1 percentage point decrease from September’s score of 60.8 percent. A reading above 50 indicates growth. Comments from respondents suggest that […]
Global manufacturing hit a six-and-a-half year high in October. The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.5 from September’s 53.3. Most components of the PMI rose at faster rates in October. Output and output prices softened slightly during the month. Output charges increased reflecting supply chain constraints and longer vendor lead times. “The global […]
Consumers’ view of the current economy surged in October, reports The Conference Board. Its composite value of consumer confidence in October was 125.9, up from 120.6 in September. The last eight months have each been better than at any time since 2001. The three-month moving average (3MMA) increased from 120.3 in September to 122.3 in […]
Growth of U.S. Gross Domestic Product in the third quarter appears to have maintained the strong performance of the second, according to the first estimate of 3Q GDP growth released Friday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Growth was reported to be 2.98 percent quarter on quarter and 2.26 percent year on year. (At the […]
Kevin Voges, president of The Material Works (TMW), just got back from reviewing a new three-cell EPS coil line installation in China, where the company is finding a receptive audience for its EPS process, an alternative to acid pickling. “The Chinese are more environmentally conscious than anyone else because they’ve messed up their environment so […]
The Chicago Business Barometer hit a six-and-a-half year high in October, rising to 66.2 from 65.2 in September. Demand and output jumped during the month. New orders rose to their highest level since June, and production increased to its highest reading since August 2014. Longer backlogs were attributed to the hurricanes and healthy demand. Backlogs […]
The value of the U.S. dollar has seen a turnaround that began on Sept. 8. From Jan. 3 through Sept. 8, the Broad Index value of the U.S. dollar depreciated by 9.3 percent. But the value rebounded by 2.9 percent from Sept. 8 through Oct. 20. (Please see the end of this report for an […]
Economic indicators of manufacturing activity are still healthy overall and portend well for the balance of this year. This report summarizes seven data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the U.S. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications, and therefore will be brief in this summary. […]
Two representatives of steel intensive regions will co-chair the Congressional Steel Caucus, Representatives Rick Crawford (R-AR) and Mike Bost (R-IL). Crawford’s 1st Congressional District in Arkansas was a farming region three decades ago when the Caucus was founded. Today, it hosts Nucor-Steel Yamato, Nucor Steel Arkansas and Big River Steel, making it the second largest […]
The U.S. Justice Department wants to know if Americans are at risk as a result of the Kobe Steel quality scandal. The Japanese metal producer’s subsidiary, Kobe Steel USA, Inc., received a request from the Justice Department on Oct. 16 seeking related documents. Kobe officials said they plan to cooperate with the Justice investigation. Kobe […]