Ship owners are reporting “staggering losses” says the January 15 MID-SHIP Report. “Dry cargo freight rates are basically in “free fall” because of very low bunker costs coupled with major over supply of ships thus forcing freight levels down to where they were in 1982-1986,” according to MID-SHIP. The Baltic Indices all registered declines in […]
Metalforming companies reported softening in shipments at the end of 2014 but are generally optimistic about prospects for 2015. The January 2015 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report follows. CLEVELAND, OH—January 21, 2015—According to the January 2015 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, metalforming companies are optimistic about business conditions during the next […]
Alaskan plans to upgrade the Prince Rupert ferry terminal have been scrapped after Canada moved to bar a Buy America requirement for contract bids on the project. The enactment of a ruling under the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act would have imposed fines of up to $1.5 million (US $1.2 million) and/or jail time for corporations […]
The three T’s, taxes, trade and transportation, are top issues the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) hoped would be addressed by President Obama in the State of the Union address earlier this week. AISI president and CEO Thomas Gibson expressed disappointment in the President’s address which had some “positive elements for the manufacturing sector” […]
The Architecture Billings Index rebounded to 52.2 in December from 50.9 in November, according to the American Institute of Architects. Demand for design services increased in ten of the twelve months of 2014. The new projects inquiry index dropped slightly to 58.2 from 58.8 in the previous month while design contracts were at 49.9 after […]
“A perfect storm of congestion” is how one official referred to conditions at West Coast ports. Sitting offshore on Friday were 18 vessels waiting to dock—normally there are zero, said Philip Sanfield, Director of Media Relations, Port of Los Angeles. The congestion at the port is due to several causes, said Sanfield. Larger cargo vessels […]
Gulf ports are not experiencing the horrific congestion issues seen in the West. Fleetwood Port Logistics, out of Houston and Savannah, that deals primarily in break bulk steel products, has seen little to no congestion at the primary discharge terminal of North City Docks, Port of Houston. There has been some congestion at the smaller […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP index was reported as 106.51 for December a decline of 0.1 percent from November. The three month moving average (3MMA) was 106.13 which was the highest value ever and the seventh straight month where the growth of the 3MMA exceeded […]
The Cass Freight Index report showed a 6.3 percent month-over-month drop in shipment volume in December, in line with seasonal expectations. The peak holiday shipping season is generally July to September, but Cass Information Systems says the peak in 2014 was earlier due to concerns related to the expiration of the ILWU labor contract at […]
Each quarter ITR Economics and HARDI offer a forecast on the construction industry. Steel Market Update provides a summary of that forecast on a national and regional basis. This week we are going to change our format slightly and provide the national forecast summary based on ITR’s Interactive Regional Economic Forecast Webinar. We will provide […]
A fresh challenge to advanced high strength steel has emerged with a new product from Alcoa called Micromill. The new alloy is stronger, lighter and more formable than previous aluminum alloys. “We cracked the magic formula,” said Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld during the Q4 2014 earnings call. “In the past, if you wanted more formability, […]
The current activity index of the Philadelphia Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey dropped 18 points to register 6.3 in January, widely missing economic estimates of 18.7 for the month. The decrease indicates slower growth and was accompanied by a drop in new orders and shipments. The shipments index registered a negative reading, falling 22 points to […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated expanding business activity in January. The headline general business conditions index climbed 11 points to 10.0 after falling below zero last month. New orders had a modest increase rising six points to 6.1, as did shipments with a seven point rise to 9.6. The unfilled orders index remained negative […]
In previous months we have reported on steel mill shipments and total supply to the market separately in alternate months with reference to imports which account for most of the difference. In future we will report on shipments and supply in one single report to measure the degree to which imports have absorbed the increased […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report on non-farm employment indicated that 252,000 jobs were added in December, November and October were revised up by a total of 50,000. The three month moving average (3MMA) of gains in December was second only to November as the highest since May 2010 at 289,000. This job recovery […]
Low scrap prices and declining exports took a toll on earnings results for Schnitzer Steel Industries. Export selling prices for ferrous scrap declined by $80 per ton, or 20 percent, while domestic prices dropped $60 per ton, or 15 percent. The declines were the steepest seen by Schnitzer since 2012. The company reported a net […]
Sims Metal Management has announced the appointment of Tobin Popisil as President of the North America Metals-Central Region which includes the Midwest, South and Southwest regions of the U.S. Prior to joining the Sims, Pospisil served as President of the Gallatin Steel Company, a flat products mini-mill joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Gerdau. He joined […]
The value of the U.S. dollar is having a major impact on commodity, scrap and steel pricing. The strengthening of the dollar is something that Steel Market Update is watching very closely. We are therefor going to increase the number of times we provide currency updates from once per month to every three weeks (and […]
Manufacturing growth across the globe slowed as 2014 drew to a conclusion. The December JP Morgan Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) registered 51.6 in December, down from 51.8 the previous month and its lowest level since August 2013. North America remained the primary driver of manufacturing growth for the world as the Eurozone and […]
Everyone wants to know how the steel industry did from our perspective over the calendar year 2014. We decided to take a look at the year using quarterly averages as a way of smoothing out the data and giving us a clearer picture of key data and commodity and steel pricing trends. As you can […]
The ISM Manufacturing Index retreated again in December. The Institute of Supply Management released their December report on January 2nd and after the October surprise on the upside, the index slid back once again from 59.0 to 58.7 in November and to 55.5 in December, however this is still equal to the average for the […]
The Consumer Confidence Index as reported by the Conference Board rose in December and the November results were revised upwards. The composite rose from 91.0 to 92.6, the view of the present situation rose from 93.7 to 98.6 as expectations fell from 89.3 to 88.5. The three month moving averages (3MMA) of the composite and […]
The following is the Chicago Federal Reserve statement followed by our own graphical analysis. The CFNAI is an excellent reality check for much of the economic analysis that we routinely provide in The Steel Market Update. An explanation of the Index is provided at the end of this piece. Index shows economic growth picked up […]
Negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association are entering their eighth month. Rhetoric between the two parties has heated up in the past few weeks with the PMA blaming the ILWU for the slowdowns and congestion at the Western ports and the ILWU blaming the carriers and accusing PMA […]
The article below is normally reserved for our Premium level members, but due to our holiday publishing schedule, we decided to share it with all of our readers. If you are interested in receiving our Premium product you may contact us at info@steelmarketupdate.com or (800) 432 3475. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released the […]
Durable goods orders took an unexpected decline in November, falling 0.7 percent to $242.3 billion, according to data released by the Department of Commerce. The headline figure widely missed Bloomberg’s consensus of a 3.0 gain for the month. Defense orders dropped 8.1 percent, leading November’s decline after gaining 10 percent in October. Excluding transportation, new orders […]
We received this poem from one of our manufacturing customers with a sense of humor. Enjoy and Happy Holidays to each and every one of you. T’was just 2 day’s,Before Christmas, When all through the market,The mills are so quiet,Will they hit my target? Their stocks keep dropping,The market’s a bear,The mills keep crying.“Imports aren’t […]
Metalforming companies are expecting a slight improvement in business conditions over the next three months, according to the December survey by the Precision Metalforming Association. PMA says low fuel prices may help offset manufacturing costs. Low gas prices may also push surging auto sales into 2015. The December report follows: CLEVELAND, OH—December 18, 2014—According to […]
Canadians are outraged by the “Buy America” rule applied to a ferry terminal overhaul on Canadian soil. Funding for updating the Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal in British Columbia, leased to the State of Alaska, is coming primarily from the Federal Highway Administration, which requires Buy America rules. In the restrictions published in tendering documents by […]
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) released their Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score for the month of November on Wednesday this week, reporting that the latest index is at the lowest point in the last seven months. The ABI score for November was 50.9, down 2.8 points from October’s score of 53.7. Note that the […]