Construction on the $5.2 billion Panama Canal expansion continued at a reduced rate on Monday despite threats by contractor consortium Grupo Unidos por El Canal, S.A. (GUPC) that work would be suspended due to lack of payment by the Panama Canal Authority (PCA). The Spanish controlled consortium was hired to build the third set of […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out its series of producer price indexes (PPI), for thousands of goods and materials. The latest release on Wednesday reported December results. These statistics are a useful way to evaluate any changes in the competitive position of steel against competing materials. See below for the official description […]
Metalforming companies are expecting business conditions to accelerate in the next three months, according to the January 2014 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. In January, 46 percent of participants said they expected economic activity to improve, up from 41 percent in December, while 47 percent said they expect conditions will be unchanged. A leap […]
The Dodge Momentum Index is a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential building projects in planning and is published by McGraw Hill Construction. The report leads construction spending by a full year and can be used an indicator for future construction. Any reading above 100, established for year 2000, indicates growth in construction […]
The Federal Reserve publishes a trade weighted index of the value of the US$ against a basket of the currencies of our major trading partners weekly and monthly. The H.10 weekly release contains daily rates of exchange of major foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar. The data are noon buying rates in New York for […]
Net job creation in December was a disappointing 74,000, far below expectations. However November was revised up by 38,000 and the three month moving average of monthly job gains was hardly dented (Figure 1). This monthly result is at odds with most other economic indicators and was probably adversely affected by short term influences such […]
Last week the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2014 was presented in the House of Representatives to renew and strengthen the existing Trade Priorities Act. The American Institute for International Steel supports the bipartisan legislation, saying it is “among the most significant trade bills introduced in Congress.” To read the full press release from the […]
Canadian building permits declined in November to 18,173, falling 3.6 percent from October. The value of permits issued dropped 6.7 percent to $6.8 billion after gaining 8 percent the previous month. Permit values have been an upward trend with eight monthly increases in 2013. In the residential sector, the total value of permits declined 7.6 […]
Steel buyers are expecting general economic activity to remain unchanged to slightly better in the next six months. In the December ISM Steel Buyers Survey 63.6 percent expect conditions to remain the same while 36.4 percent of those surveyed expect improvement. This compares to 66.7 percent and 26.7 percent, respectively, last month. Sales and production […]
ASD Press Release: CHICAGO — The Association of Steel Distributors (ASD) announces that James (Jim) Barnett, president of Grand Steel Products in Wixom, Mich., is the recipient of the industry’s highest honor, the Steel Man of the Year Award. This annual ASD award honors one individual who embodies leadership, dedication, service and excellence in the […]
December US auto sales failed to meet expectations but annual sales still registered as the best year since 2007. December sales were up just 0.3 percent but automakers were pleased with the 7.6 percent overall gains for 2013. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.6 million units was well below the 16.0 million predicted by […]
The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.3 in December from 53.1 in November, expanding for the twelfth consecutive month. Manufacturing production increased at its fastest pace since Feb. 2011, with growth rate of new orders holding steady at November’s rate. Exports rose for the sixth consecutive month. The US, Japan, Germany, the UK […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index showed disappointing manufacturing conditions for December. The survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported the general index at 1.0, up three points from November but indicating almost no change in activity for the month. The future outlook index was slightly less optimistic than November with all indices […]
Manufacturing activity expanded in December for the seventh consecutive month and rose to its second highest reading of 2013. The PMI (purchasing managers index) registered 57 percent according to the December 2013 ISM Manufacturing Report on Business. New orders, employment, supplier deliveries and prices all grew at a faster rate in December. New Orders increased […]
Chinese iron ore imports rose to 77,840,000 metric tons (MT) in November, a 14.8 percent increase over October tonnage. Compared to the same month one year ago, November imports were up 18.3 percent. Year-to-date (YTD) iron ore imports stood at 746,100,000 MT for the first 11 months of 2013. Steel scrap imports to China were […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The total number of indicators considered at present is thirty six. The present situation of eleven of the indicators based on historical standards was positive on December 28, the same as on November […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index showed disappointing manufacturing conditions for December. The survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported the general index at 1.0, up three points from November but indicating almost no change in activity for the month. The future outlook index was slightly less optimistic than November with all indices […]
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed year-over-year gains of 13.6 percent in October, according to data released December 31, 2013—the largest gain since Feb. 2006. The monthly gain for October 2013 for the 10-city and 20-city composites was 0.2 percent. In the twenty city composite, eighteen cities posted lower monthly rates in October than September […]
The Chicago Business Barometer slipped 3.9 points to 59.1 in December. It is the second consecutive month that the barometer has fallen but the reading well above 50 indicates expansion is still strong although moderating. New Orders, Production and Order Backlogs continued to expand but at a slower rate. Employment fell to just above the […]
The following is a summary from the U.S. Census Bureau advanced report on durable goods for November. The revised and more detailed estimates will be released by the Bureau on January 6, 2014. New Orders: New orders for manufactured durable goods in November increased $8.2 billion or 3.5 percent to $241.6 billion. Transportation equipment led […]
If you look under the “Analysis” tab there will be a drop down menu where you can access Imports/Exports – there is then a sub menu where the last item is imports by product, port and country. This is available only to Premium Level members. The October numbers are on the website. If you have […]
The first estimate of Q3 GDP growth from the Bureau of Economic Analysis surprised on the upside with a growth of 2.82 percent annualized, the second estimate came in at 3.6 percent and the third at 4.1 percent, well within the range that results in the growth of steel demand. GDP in Q3 2013 was […]
Natural gas future prices rose 5 percent on news from the Energy Information Administration that gas supplies fell by 285 billion cubic feet in the week ended Dec. 13. Freezing temperatures around the nation drove demand for natural gas to heat homes and businesses, creating the largest draw on gas supply in a single week, […]
Manufacturing activity slowed in the Second and Third Districts in December and fell in the Tenth. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported the general manufacturing index for the region at 1.0, up three points from November but indicating flat conditions for the month. Likewise, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (Third District) reported […]
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the results of their analysis of member companies demand for design services. The resulting Architecture Billings Index (ABI) is one of the most watched indices associated with residential and commercial construction by the steel community. A tremendous amount of flat rolled steel as well as long products are […]
Housing starts jumped 22.7 percent in November to 1,091,000, well above an annual revised October estimate of 889,000 for October and the highest level in six years. The rate for single family housing starts leapt 20.8 percent to 727,000 while the rate for multi-family units rose 26.8 percent to 354,000. The report by the Commerce […]
Canadian shipments for all steel products in the month of November were 473,000 net tons, a decrease of 11.1 percent from the month before and a decrease of 4.5 percent from November 2012. Inventories at the end of the month stood at 1,256,700 tons, an increase of 0.9 percent from last month but a decrease […]
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) says builder confidence in the new single-family home market is improving. The NAHB Index rose four points to a reading of 58 in December. The reading has been above 50 for seven months and is up 11 points year-over-year. “The recent spike in mortgage interest rates has not […]
U.S. industrial production jumped 1.1 percent in November after inching up a revised 0.1 percent in October, according to information released by the Federal Reserve Board on Dec. 16. Manufacturing output increased 0.6 percent for its fourth consecutive monthly gain. Utilities saw a surge of 3.9 percent as winter weather boosted demand for heating. Automobile […]
The December Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated disappointing manufacturing conditions for December. The survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported the general index at 1.0, up three points from November but indicating almost no change in activity for the month. The new orders index rose slightly but stayed in negative territory at […]