Manufacturing activity expanded in May according to the Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The PMI rose 0.1 percent from April to a reading of 54.9 percent. The new orders index rose 2 points to 59.5 percent while the production index declined 1.5 points to 57.1. Inventories were relatively stable in May. The inventory index rose […]
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. Consumer Confidence decreased 1.5 points in May, falling to 117.9 but the last four months have each been better than at […]
The Chicago Business Barometer hits its highest level since January, increasing from 58.3 in April to a reading of 59.5 in May. New orders fell 4.5 points to 61.4 but production gained 3.7 points for an index reading of 62.3. Order backlogs pulled from contraction after five months of decline. Delivery times for inputs lengthened […]
This report summarized seven data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the US. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications therefore will be brief in this summary. We don’t expect these data sources to all point in the same direction but our intention in summarizing them […]
The month of May saw flat rolled steel prices and our SMU Price Momentum Indicator take a turn and move lower. Benchmark hot rolled pricing was $625 during the first week of May and ended the month at $580 per ton. The HRC average for the month was $603 per ton, $6 per ton lower […]
Peter Brebach, CEO of Iron Angels of Colorado, one of the founding members of the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) and a friend of Steel Market Update where he was a contributing writer and co-founder of SMU Steel 101 workshop, has passed away. The American Institute for International Steel sent out the following press […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) spend the majority of today discussing the flat rolled steel markets with steel buyers from around the country. The main topic of conversation was pricing, which is anticipated will drop over the next 30 days and Section 232 which is expected to end that drop… Flat rolled steel buyers reported most […]
Texas legislators have approved a “Buy American” bill that will require large state projects to purchase domestic iron and steel. Senate Bill 1289 requires use of American steel if the cost doesn’t exceed 20 percent of foreign price offerings. Foreign steel may also be used if American suppliers cannot provide the necessary material or if […]
Metalformers are expecting a downturn in business conditions during the next three months according the May 2017 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. The PMA report is an economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 117 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada. Participants were less optimistic about improvement in general economic activity during the […]
Orders of manufactured durable goods orders decreased 0.7 percent in April, according to the Department Commerce. “The shipment of capital good non-defense ex-aircrafts came in at -0.1% MoM vs. +0.5% consensus and March was revised down to +0.2% from +0.5% prior — this doesn’t bode particularly well for second-quarter GDP,” noted BMO Capital Markets. The […]
Please see the end of this report for an explanation of data sources. On May 22 Arun Chopra of Fusion Point Capital wrote: “The dollar has been on a 2 year plus uptrend. When the dollar broke out we saw oil and all commodities collapse. An important long term trend line has broken, having implications […]
Manufacturing grew moderately in the Tenth District in May, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. In the bank’s latest survey the composite index rose to 8 from 7 in April. Indicators were mixed, with little change overall from last month. Production and shipment indexes were slightly lower as employment and backlogs inched […]
AISI, WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Iron and Steel Institute’s (AISI) Board of Directors today elected John Ferriola, Chairman, President and CEO, Nucor Corporation, to serve another year as chairman of the Institute, through May 2018. “John is a recognized leader in the global and domestic steel industry. He is an outspoken advocate for the […]
The Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity showed shipments and new orders fell significantly in May pulling the composite index down to 1 from 20 in April. The index for backlogs decreased to -15 from 4 in April and vendor lead times increased to an index reading of 6 from 2. The finished goods inventory […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) had a number of conversations with steel buyers late last week during our trip to Chicago. Benchmark hot rolled prices offers have slipped below $600 per ton with one service center executive discussing a spot offer of $560 per ton coming from one mill (and complaining that they lost of the […]
The Trump administration plans to start renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in mid-August, said US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in a letter to Congress today. Lighthizer said he has triggered the 90-day consultation period with Congress, industries and the public. “As a starting point for negotiations, we should build on what has […]
Manufacturing conditions deteriorated in New York State in May according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The general business conditions index slid six points to -1.0. The index is now down 19 points since its February high of 18.7. Economists were expecting the headline index to come in at a positive 7.0 for the […]
The World Trade Organization expects global trade to continue to expand moderately in second quarter 2017. The World Trade Outlook Indicator (WTOI) rose to 102.2 and was the highest reading since May 2011. Export orders, container shipping, and air freight recorded strong gains in recent months, signaling above-trend growth in merchandise trade volumes for the […]
This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through March 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 […]
The US Gross Domestic Product is the values of goods and services produced by all economic activity. The growth of GDP is a function of the growth in the number of employed people multiplied by the growth of their productivity. Steel consumption is correlated to GDP, therefore to understand the direction of the steel market […]
AIST – NASHVILLE, 9 May 2017 — Roger K. Newport, chief executive officer and board member, AK Steel, was named Steelmaker of the Year at AISTech 2017 — The Iron & Steel Technology Conference and Exposition, managed by The Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST). The Steelmaker of the Year Award is presented annually […]
Please see the end of this report for an explanation of data sources. The Broad Index value of the US $ is reported several days in arrears by the Federal Reserve, the latest value published was dated April 14th (Figure 1). The dollar had a recent peak of 128.963 on January 3rd which was the […]
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. Consumer Confidence decreased 4.6 points in April, falling to 120.3 but this is still the second highest reading since December 2000. The three month moving average (3MMA […]
The headline report of GDP growth in Q1 came in at 0.7 percent a decline from 3.53 percent in the third quarter and 2.08 percent in Q4 2016. Economy.com had this to say about first quarter tendencies. “The first quarter can be full of surprises; during this expansion, first quarter GDP growth has come in […]
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. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United […]
The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI dipped slightly to 52.8 in April from 53.0 in March. The PMI has shown expansion (above the 50 no-change mark) for 14 months. Manufacturing conditions slowed in the U.S. but was offset by acceleration in Europe, Japan and the United Kingdom. China expanded at its weakest rate in seven […]
The April 2017 ISM Report on Business showed economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanding for the eighth consecutive month. The PMI registered 54.8, dropping 2.4 points from March as new orders slowed. The PMI has averaged 56.4 since the beginning of the year. New orders decreased 7 points to 57.5 percent. New export orders […]
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. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United […]
The month of April began with SMU Price Momentum Indicator pointing toward higher prices and by the second week of the month we had moved our Indicator to Neutral which is where it is now as the month ends. Our 3MMA for the SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index appears to be peaking at +74. The […]
The Chicago Business Barometer in April reached its highest level since January 2015, posting a score of 58.3 from 57.7 in March. Growing demand for manufactured products pushed new orders up 5.5 points to a near three-year high. The production index in April was at another high level although receding slightly to 59.5 from 61.7. […]