The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) Board of Directors announced the election of Philip K. Bell as SMA President. Bell is currently Director of External Communications and Public Affairs for Gerdau Long Steel North America. He will assume his new role at SMA on November 1, 2013. Current SMA President Thomas Danjczek will retire after 15 […]
Effect of the government shutdown on information flow: about half of the data that we at SMU use to evaluate the state of and direction of the steel market is produced by government agencies and is publicly available. The current nature of things was brought home to us on Tuesday when we attempted to access […]
Specialty pipe maker Edgen Group Inc., based in Baton Rouge, has been purchased by Japan-based Sumitomo Corporation for $12 per share. The acquisition is valued at $520 million and is expected to close by the end of the year. “The investment in Edgen Group will represent further expansion of Sumitomo’s distribution presence across the upstream, […]
The Institute of Supply Management Purchasing Managers Index, (PMI) registered 56.2 percent in September, an increase of 0.5 percentage point from the August reading. The 3MMA (three month moving average) of the index was 55.7 in September, the highest in over two years and continued to distance itself from the 50 threshold that marks the […]
September ended with the SMU Price Momentum Indicator pointing toward Neutral. In light of the price increase announcements beginning to come out of the domestic steel mills we will continue our Neutral position allowing all the mills to announce (or not) and buyers to react before making a change toward one direction or another. SMU […]
The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) is a monthly estimate by major industry of manufacturing output in the Seventh Federal Reserve District states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. It is a composite index of 15 manufacturing industries that uses hours worked data to measure monthly changes in regional activity. The official news […]
The Baker Hughes North American Rotary Rig Count is a weekly census of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the United States and Canada. Rigs are considered active from the time they break ground until the time they reach their target depth and may be establishing […]
New orders for manufactured durable goods in August were almost unchanged from July. In hindsight the results for May and June were outliers on the high side driven by orders for civil aircraft. The three month moving average in August had negative growth of 1.5 percent compared to the three months through July. A better […]
Manufacturing activity in the Tenth District slowed in September according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The month-over-month composite index that factors in production, new orders, employment, supplier delivery times, and raw materials inventory indices, was 2, dropping from 8 in August and 6 in July. The production index slid […]
The Bureau of Economic Analysis’s third estimate of GDP growth in the second quarter was 2.46 percent q / q, little changed from the 2nd estimate and up from 1.1 percent in the first quarter. The official news release is included below. All major sub components made positive contributions except government expenditures and net exports […]
“Today I am going to be Chicken Little” is how John Anton of IHS Global Insight began his presentation at their 7th annual Pricing & Purchasing Summit. The reason behind his comment was his forecast for 2014 called for a modest rise in steel prices in early 2014 before flattening out. The Chicken Little part […]
The Conference Board composite measure of consumer confidence decreased in September from 81.8 in August to 79.7. The 3MMA fell from 81.6 to 80.8 but was up by 15.8 year over year. The view of the present situation and expectations moved in opposite directions. The consumer’s view of the present situation was up from 71.1 […]
Manufacturing activity in the Fifth District was stalled in September according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite index of manufacturing activity registered 0 following last month’s reading of 14. New orders and shipments slowed compared to August. Lead times were unchanged at an index reading of 1 for the second month. Shipments […]
U.S. steel industry members are challenging proposed changes to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Buy America laws that will affect manufactured products, ferry boat equipment, and pig iron and processed, pelletized, and reduced iron ores. The FHWA sought comments from the public regarding the continued, need, in whole or part for the general waivers on […]
In August China’s steel production exceeded 50 percent of the global total for what we believe to be the first time. Global production in August was 130.352 million tonnes with a capacity utilization of 76.0 percent. In three months through August production was at an annual rate of 1.572 billion tonnes with a capacity utilization […]
Buyers looking to snag a low mortgage before rates rise too high pushed home re-sales to its highest pace since February 2007. Existing home sales rose 1.7 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million from 5.39 million in July. The increase is likely to be temporary however, said Lawrence Yun, […]
Good news from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank—manufacturing activity increased from 9.3 to 22.3 in September, its highest reading in the Business Outlook Survey since March 2011. Demand for manufactured goods increased 16 points on the new order index to 21.2. Shipments picked up from a decrease last month. Inventories and deliveries were steady […]
Increasing demand for design services fueling recovery for construction industry The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) showed more acceleration in the growth of design activity nationally. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects […]
Housing starts in August fell short of economist expectations showing just a 0.9 percent increase to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 891,000 units. The increase only comes after July’s rate was revised downward to 883,000 from 896,000, indicating the market may be flattening. Starts for single family homes rose 7 percent offsetting a […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index lost two points in September but conditions for New York manufacturers still indicate modest growth at 6.3. New orders picked up from a flat 0.27 in August, rising to 2.4. The shipping index surged 15 points to 16.4—its highest level in more than a year. Prices paid held […]
Metalforming companies are predicting a decline in economic activity during the next three months after showing optimism in the August survey last month. The September 2013 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report showed the number of participants forecasting a decline in activity doubled in September to 14 percent, with 51 percent expecting no change […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out its series of producer price indexes, for thousands of goods and materials. The latest release on Friday reported August results. These statistics are a useful way to evaluate any changes in the competitive position of steel against competing materials. For the purpose of this report, Steel […]
ISM Steel Buyers in August showed more optimism that orders will improve for the next three months. Buyers expecting an increase rose to 47.1 percent, up from 38.9 percent, while the percentage of buyers expecting business to remain the same rose to 41.2 percent from 33.3 percent last month. General economic activity over the next […]
Sooner Inc., the largest U.S. distributor of pipes for oil and gas, has been purchased by Tokyo-based Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. for $600 million in cash. MISI subsidiary Marubeni-Itochu Tubulars America, Inc., will gain a 100 percent of share of Sooner Inc. The two companies are both based in Houston. “We are pleased to complete […]
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is initiating an investigation into dumping of hot-rolled carbon steel plate and high-strength low-allow steel plate originating or exported from Brazil, Chinese Taipei, Denmark, Indonesia, Italy, Japan and the Republic of Korea. The investigation, announced on September 5, was prompted by complaints by Essar Steel, Sault Ste. Marie, […]
Job creation at 169,000 in August was a little below expectations but the downward revision to June and July of 74,000 was very disappointing. Employment gains continue to be heavily slanted towards service industries. In August production industries added, 18,000 jobs, service industries added 151,000 jobs, (Table 1). Included in the service number is government […]
The Global PMI composite index increased to 51.7 for the month of August, up from the 50.8 reading in July. This slight yet meaningful increase marks the eighth consecutive month of expansion in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing production increased for the tenth consecutive month, with the rate of growth at the highest level recorded since […]
The Institute for Supply Management Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) registered 55.4 percent in July which was an increase of 4.5 percentage points above the June reading of 50.9. The 3 month moving average (3MMA) rose from 50.2 to 51.43. Any reading above 50.0 percent means manufacturing is expanding. JP Morgan Global Manufacturing & Services PMI […]
Service Center Deficit Will Help Keep Mill Prices Firm Flat rolled inventories are at a 466,000 ton deficit according to Steel Market Update proprietary analysis of the recently released MSCI service center inventory data. The 466,000 ton deficit is the largest one we have measured since August 2009 when it was measured at 604,000 tons. […]
The key factor holding prices firm was the continuation of supply issues at the domestic steel mills. During the month we had ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor lose their #3 blast furnace for a week. The furnace is back online as of the end of the month. We also had U.S. Steel performing maintenance on a furnace […]