Architectural firms report that billings for design services increased in June despite higher construction costs for the industry and a shortage of qualified labor. The June Architecture Billings Index, published by the American Institute of Architects, registered 54.2 following a score of 53.0 in May. Billings have been on a generally upward trajectory over the […]
U.S. industrial production is in Phase B, accelerating growth, but the latest HARDI/ITR quarterly construction forecast warns that the next phase of the cycle, slower growth, is on the horizon. Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. […]
The value of the U.S. dollar is in free fall on the international foreign exchange markets. Through July 18, the Broad Index value of the U.S. dollar had depreciated by 7 percent since January 3. Comparing on a rolling three-month basis, the index has declined every single day since January 20. (Please see the end […]
China’s economic performance through the second quarter continued to be impressive. Chinese growth of steel production lagged the rest of the world in the first months of 2017, but the June output could indicate an unwelcome change. Once each quarter, we publish the official statistics for Chinese GDP, industrial production, consumer price inflation and fixed […]
The following is excerpted from an article written in February 2014 by SMU Publisher John Packard and supply chain consultant Mario Briccetti of Briccetti Associates. Buyers and sellers of steel are often exposed to ethical questions in their everyday activities. Some of the issues that arise are fairly easy to discern as ethical or unethical, […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index fell 10 points to 9.8 in July, after hitting a two-year high in June. New orders and shipments continued to grow but at a slower pace in New York State, dropping 4.8 points and 11.8 points, respectively. Delivery times were reported as longer in the July survey and inventory levels […]
Apparent supply is a proxy for market demand, and for hot rolled coil has been growing strongly this year. Imports continue to be an increasing factor in the sheet markets. There is a major difference in import market share for the four major sheet products. This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through May […]
The United States has called for a special meeting with South Korean trade officials to discuss modifying the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS). In a July 12 letter to the Korean trade minister, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer requested a special session in Washington to address problems with the agreement, including market access in Korea […]
John Packard, Publisher, Steel Market Update Today I spent a good portion of my time wandering around the United States and Canada soliciting information about flat rolled steel pricing, lead times, Section 232 and anything else steel buyers wanted to talk about. I thought the quote of the day was from a manufacturing company who […]
The European steel market and economy improved in the first half of 2017, but the EU is concerned that increasing protectionist policies may lead to “disastrous trade flow distortions.” Apparent steel consumption grew 3.1 percent year-over-year in the European Union during the first quarter of 2017, according to a new report by the European Steel […]
The U.S. employment situation continues to be good. Net job creation in June, including revisions for April and May, was 269,000, and the latest number of job openings was the highest on record. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) net job creation report released on Friday exceeded economists’ expectations and was another example of why […]
President Trump heads to Hamburg, Germany, today for the G20 summit with trade deficits and steel dumping on his mind. Trump is expected to receive strong opposition on any attempt to use the Section 232 steel investigation as leverage to influence trade talks. G20 leaders have been critical of the White House’s casting of national […]
The Manufacturing ISM Report on Business exceeded expectations in June with a PMI reading of 57.8 percent. The composite index jumped 2.9 points for its strongest reading since August 2014, said the Institute for Supply Management, Tempe, Ariz. A reading above 50 indicates growth. The new orders index strengthened with a 4 point increase to […]
Manufacturing growth remained steady in June, according to the JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI. The composite index was unchanged from May at 52.6. The PMI average for second quarter fell slightly below first quarter. The Eurozone drove growth in June, accelerating the PMI for the region to its highest level in more than six years. […]
We ended the month of June with a change in our Price Momentum Indicator from Neutral (we had moved from lower to Neutral earlier in the month) to Higher. With the expectation of Section 232 being implemented by President Trump, we feel prices have only one way to go, up. How long that will last […]
The Chicago Business Barometer took a giant leap in June, expanding from 59.4 in May to 65.7. The Barometer, which is designed to predict future changes in gross domestic product, was at its highest level since 2014. The average score for second quarter was 61.1, significantly stronger than the average of 55.1 in Q1. The […]
Metalforming companies are not expecting much change in business conditions in the next three months. The latest Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report indicates that only 34 percent of survey participants predict an improvement in general economic activity, while 58 percent predict no change. Orders are expected to be steady or slightly better in […]
The American Institute of Architects reports that May indices for new project inquiries and contracts reached their highest level so far in 2017. The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) climbed 2.1 points to a score of 53.0. New project inquires increased 2.2 points for a reading of 62.4 and the new design contracts index reached 54.8 […]
Please see the end of this report for an explanation of data sources. The analysis of currency trends is a highly technical undertaking; therefore we at SMU rely on the opinions of experts for much of our commentary. As expected, the Fed raised its policy rate range by 25 basis points on June 14. This […]
The source of this data is the Conference Board with analysis by Steel Market Update. Please see the end of this piece for an explanation of the indicator and for the official news release. The composite value of consumer confidence was 118.9 in June, an increase of 1.3 points from the May value. The last […]
Two Federal Reserve manufacturing indices came out this week showing a contrast between business conditions in the Richmond and Texas regions. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Manufacturing in the Fifth District improved in June with more manufacturing executives expressing optimism for the next six months. The composite index rose six points to register 7 on […]
Durable goods orders, products designed to last three or more years, slipped for a second month, falling 1.1 percent in May, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Core capital goods orders, a category that tracks business investment, declined for the first time this year, inching down 0.2 percent. Airline orders drove the decline with commercial […]
We are continuing our investigation to quantify the players in the global trade of both HRC and CRC. We now have data for the first quarter of this year. This information is sourced quarterly from the Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau in the UK. It takes about 10 weeks after the close of a quarter […]
This is only the third time we have produced a report on global scrap trade. In the future, we will report quarterly because to understand the gyrations of the domestic scrap market we should be aware of where the U.S. stands as a global player. This data is not very current as some nations are […]
This afternoon there was a press conference in Washington hosted by the American Institute for International Steel. Many of the large press organizations attended the conference, and even though we were unable to personally attend, we did receive notes about the content and especially the questions that interested the press corps. There appears to be […]
Two new Federal Reserve manufacturing reports came out on Thursday, one rebounding and one slowing. Manufacturing activity shot up in New York State, while activity in the Philadelphia region continued to expand, but at a slower pace. Empire State Manufacturing Survey The general business conditions index leaped 21 points to 19.8, its highest level in […]
We start this report with comments made by Jun Wei Yeo on iron ore and coking coal. “In April to May alone, there was an over 30 percent drop in the price of iron ore. Iron ore mining companies such as Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Brazil’s Vale are suffering simultaneous stock price declines. Most […]
This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through April 2017 and year-on-year changes. It then compares domestic mill shipments with total supply to the market. It quantifies market direction by product and enables a side-by-side comparison of the degree to which imports have absorbed demand. Sources are the American Iron and Steel Institute and […]
The Dodge Momentum Index gained 4 percent in May posting a score of 139.1 after slipping to a revised 133.7 in April. Commercial projects in planning increased 4.8 percent while institutional project planning was up 2.9 percent, recovering partially from April’s 12.0 percent decline. Despite signs of weakening occupancies and rents, the commercial component of […]
President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement was met mostly with silence from the steel industry. Cliffs Natural Resource CEO Lourenco Goncalves was among the few to publicly voice his support for abandoning the environmental agreement signed by 194 other nations. “Cliffs applauds President Trump for his decision to withdraw from the […]