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 jumped from 92.4 in May, its lowest value since July last year to 101.1 in August, its highest value since September last year. Included below […]
Durable goods orders gained 4.4 percent in July following two months of declines, according to the latest report by the Commerce Department. The rebound was led by a surge in commercial aircraft orders which soared 90 percent after a 50 percent tumble in June. Nearly all categories comprising the new orders index showed increases in […]
Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of July 2016, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports, and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in July were 88,400,000 metric tons, an increase of 8.3 percent from the previous month and an increase of 2.7 percent from […]
Metalforming companies believe business conditions will improve during the next three months, according to the August 2016 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. A survey of 122 metalforming companies in the US and Canada showed 30 percent of participants expecting better conditions, up from 22 percent in July. Those who think business will remain […]
A new federal regulation will require contractors to toe the line on safety, workplace discrimination, organizing rights, minimum wage compliance and overtime rules if they want to win federal contracts. The order is called “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” and has been in creation since 2014. The rule has now been finalized by the Department […]
Manufacturing activity in the Fifth District was weaker in August according to the most recent survey by The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index for August plummeted to -11 after July’s reading of +10. Shipments fell sharply losing 21 points for an index reading of -14, while the new orders index plunged […]
Economic growth increased for a second consecutive month in July according to the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI). The index is a gauge of economic activity and inflation and is expressed by three separate index values: the CFNAI and two 3-month moving average indexes, the CFNAI-MA3 and CFNAI Diffusion Index. The 3-month averages help […]
The July Architecture Billings Index indicated that design activity for construction projects remains healthy although growing at a slower pace than the past two months. The ABI was at 51.5 in July, just above the average score for the first half of 2016 and down slightly from June’s score of 52.6. New design contracts rebounded […]
Business activity declined in the New York State area as reported by firms in the August 2016 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline PMI for general business conditions fell for a second month, losing five points to register -4.21. New orders were essentially unchanged at a reading near zero of 1.04. Shipments rose eight points […]
This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through June 2016 and year on year changes. It then compares domestic mill shipments and 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 […]
At SMU we almost always use three month moving averages to mitigate situations like the dismal and not credible May job creation statistics. In the July report May was revised up slightly from 11,000 to 24,000 and June was revised up from 287,000 to 292,000. This week’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported […]
Steel Market Update speaks with dozens of companies on a daily basis and hundreds over the course of a week. We also receive a large number of emails, facebook and LinkedIn posts. Every so often we like to share some of the comments being made in an article we call “Bits ‘N Pieces.” We learned […]
The Department of Commerce is initiating a new series of reports that detail steel trade flows around the world. The reports will provide a summary of steel activity in 20 countries that will enhance market intelligence for U.S. businesses. The reports will serve as the basis for a new Global Steel Trade Monitor to be fully implemented […]
Manufacturing activity expanded in July for the fifth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 85th consecutive month, according to supply executives surveyed in the July ISM Report on Business. The PMI registered 52.6 in July, down 0.6 percentage points from June and 2.2 percent above the 12 month average of 50.4. New […]
Global manufacturing began the second half of 2016 on a positive note, according to the JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI, compiled by Markit. The rate of growth for manufacturing rose at a faster rate between June and July on all of the indices that make up the composite PMI. At 51.0 in July, the PMI was […]
The states compile their employment numbers independently of the Feds, then both are reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The results are close. In the last fourteen quarters since Q1 2013, the Feds reported total job creation of 9,111,000 and the states reported 9,105,400 a difference of only 0.06 percent. Part of this small […]
In the Bureau of Economic Analysis report of GDP released on Friday, economic statistics were revised back to Q1 2013. In these revisions, Q2 and Q4 of 2015 were revised down as was Q1 of 2016. Q1 of 2015 was revised up substantially and Q3 of 2015 was unchanged. The annualized GDP growth rate in […]
For the second month, SMU Price Momentum is at Neutral suggesting flat rolled steel prices will remain within a relatively tight trading range of plus or minus twenty dollars per ton over the next 30 days. We saw hot rolled prices only move $5 per ton during the month of July. Our average for the […]
The Chicago Business Barometer lost one point in July to register 55.8 after a year and a half high of 56.8 in June, according to MNI Indicators. New orders fell 3.9 points to 59.3 but kept most of June’s gains. Order backlogs, at a high last month, remained above the 50 neutral mark. Inventories grew […]
Sources for the following article are the Conference Board and SMU analysis. Please see the end of this piece for an explanation of the indicator. Consumer Confidence jumped from 92.4 in May to 97.3 in June then eked out a small gain to 97.4 in July. Included below is the official news release from the […]
Durable goods orders fell sharply in June to $9.3 billion or a seasonally adjusted 4.0 percent. Orders were down for the second month with transportation equipment leading the decrease. May’s estimate was revised downward to 2.8 percent. Demand was weaker in June for civilian aircraft and defense, which fell 58.8 percent, and 20.7 percent, respectively. […]
Figure 1 shows published data for the growth of GDP, industrial production and consumer prices through the second quarter of 2016. The GDP and industrial production portions of this graph are three month moving averages. The growth of GDP was 6.7 percent in the second quarter, which was unchanged from the first quarter, down from […]
Metalforming companies are expecting somewhat weaker business conditions during the next three months. The July survey by the Precision Metalforming Association showed only 22 percent of participants are expecting an improvement in conditions (down from 27 percent in June); those expecting no change remained relatively steady in July at 56 percent compared to 55 percent […]
The Broad Index value of the US $ is reported several days in arrears, the latest value we have was dated July 15th (Figure 1). Our previous report was current as of June 26th which shortly followed the FOMC meeting of June 14th and 15th at which it was decided not to raise rates. This […]
What impact will Brexit have on the U.S. steel industry? Not much, says Metal Miner authorities Lisa Reisman, CEO & Executive Editor and Stuart Burns, Editor at Large, during a webinar presented July 13. The exit of the UK from the European Union is not likely to impact ferrous prices said Reisman. Instead steel prices […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The index had an all-time high of 106.70 in November 2014 and has trended down ever since. The good news is that the three month moving average (3MMA) had positive growth month/month in June for the first time since September last year. […]
New York manufacturers reported flat general business conditions in the July Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline index fell from +6.01 points to +0.55, following the seesaw pattern seen over the past few months. The indexes for shipments and new orders both fell significantly to +0.70 and -1.82, respectively. In June they were +9.32 and […]
PPG industries announced that it has completed its acquisition of MetoKote Corporation and its affiliates. MetoKote is a U.S.-based coatings services business with 2015 global sales of approximately $200 million. The transaction closed on July 1 for an undisclosed sum. MetoKote is headquartered in Lima, Ohio, and has more than 1,500 employees. MetoKote applies coatings […]
The statement of Erica L. Groshe Commissioner Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released on Friday morning reads as though the increase in net non-farm employment of 287,000 in June was a fact as was the downwardly revised May number of 11,000. We at SMU don’t believe the May result has any credibility which is particularly […]
This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through May 2016 and year on year changes. It then compares domestic mill shipments and 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 […]