“The glass ceiling is myth that gives you an excuse to fail.” A bold statement to make at a gathering of professional women, but that is what keynote speaker Mary Lindsey, Vice President and CFO Commercial Metals Co., said at the Association of Women in the Metal Industries annual conference last week. “There is too much […]
The Keystone XL pipeline, which was given the go-ahead by an executive order from President Trump, has been blocked once again by a federal judge in Montana, who ruled that the administration had not considered all the potential impacts of the project as required by law. The decision could further stall the controversial pipeline, which […]
Economic activity expanded across the United States with the majority of the 12 Federal Reserve Districts reporting modest to moderate growth in the September-October period, according to the Fed’s Beige Book released late last month. However, several Districts indicated that firms faced rising materials and shipping costs, uncertainties over the trade environment and difficulties finding […]
This evening’s price and price momentum discussion comes after a number of conversations held with flat rolled steel service center CEO’s and a trading company executive on Thursday and Friday of last week. The words “mud” and “murky” were prominent as the steel distributors try to figure out where things are headed as we enter […]
Steel service centers are struggling to peg the spot end user markets and what price levels they need to be offering to their spot flat rolled customers, based on the results obtained from last week’s flat rolled and plate steel market trends analysis performed by Steel Market Update. Steel Market Update follows the service center […]
Nearly nine out of 10 of the steel buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire earlier this week believe the domestic mills will be unsuccessful in their attempts to collect the $40 price increased they announced this time last month. Since those announcements, flat rolled steel prices are little changed, if not down […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen The U.S. midterm elections brought few surprises; voter turnout was exceptional, the Republicans gained a majority in the Senate, and the Democrats in the House. What does this mean for U.S. policy and growth? Our view is that there is some scope for additional fiscal policy easing, which would […]
The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index saw both the current and future indices as slightly more optimistic than what Steel Market Update reported during the middle of October. Current Sentiment was measured at +62, up +3 points from our last analysis. Future Sentiment at +65 improved by +12 points from what we reported two weeks […]
Most buyers tell Steel Market Update that flat rolled mills are open to price negotiations on hot rolled, cold rolled and coated steel products. The notable exception is plate. Two out of three respondents to SMU’s latest market trends questionnaire report that plate mills will not compromise on price, while one-third have found some wiggle […]
Lead times for Galvalume and plate products shortened up a bit in the past two weeks, but otherwise lead times for flat rolled products have seen little change in October or November, despite the price hike announcements by the major mills. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level—the […]
Oil and gas companies, and their steel suppliers, were relieved to learn late Tuesday that Proposition 112 failed to get enough support among the voters who cast ballots in Colorado. The highly contentious measure, which pitted the energy industry against anti-fracking environmentalists, failed by a 57-43 percent margin. Proposition 112 would have more than doubled […]
The Census Bureau provides monthly data on total U.S. manufacturing inventories, shipments and new orders, as well as data for individual industries, including steel products. The Census Bureau data provides a useful reality check on data from steel industry trade groups such as the American Iron and Steel Institute and the Metals Service Center Institute. […]
Net job creation in October totaled 250,000 positions. Construction and manufacturing gains were both strong, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most of the goods-producing employees work in manufacturing and […]
Labor productivity grew by 0.5 percent in the third quarter of 2018. The average of the last three quarters has been 0.3 percent. Unit labor costs increased 1.2 percent year over year, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Unit labor costs and productivity changes are reported quarterly […]
The employment situation in the United States is excellent and continues to improve, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Rising employment and wages are the main contributor to GDP growth because personal consumption accounts for almost 70 percent of GDP. Steel consumption is related to GDP; therefore, […]
Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium-level article with its Executive-level members this issue. For more information on upgrading to a Premium subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Economic indicators of manufacturing activity remain strong. This report summarizes 11 data streams that describe the state of U.S. manufacturing in general and the steel industry in particular. We […]
Global trade protectionism and political uncertainty weighed heavily on manufacturing in October. Manufacturing slowed to its lowest level in almost two years, according to the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI. The headline index registered 52.1, down from 52.2 in September. Weaker increases in new business and a contraction of new export orders muted production growth during […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined slightly week over week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 1 to 1,067, with oil rigs down 1 to 874 rigs, gas rigs unchanged at 193 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged […]
Except for plate, which held its own at around $1,000 a ton, steel prices generally weakened further in October, continuing a decline that began this summer. Steel Market Update data in the table below shows that the benchmark hot rolled coil price dipped below $800 per ton after sliding by about $45 during the month. […]
Manufacturing activity continues to be strong, according to the latest ISM Report on Business, although slowing its pace of growth as it enters the fourth quarter. The October PMI declined 2.1 percentage points from September to register 57.7 percent. Most of the components of the PMI are trending at a slower rate. The new orders […]
Manufacturing activity continued at a healthy clip in October, although slipping on the MNI Chicago Business Barometer. The index dropped 2.0 points to 58.4 in October and plunged 10.7 points year-over-year to its lowest reading since December 2014. The decrease may signal a return to more normal levels after a year of particularly strong performance, […]
With oil and gas prices rising, the nation’s shale plays, particularly the Permian Basin, are struggling with costly bottlenecks as drillers try to pump more crude and natural gas than the existing pipelines can handle. Energy companies are committing billions to new and expanded pipelines over the next several years, which represents a major opportunity […]
The Conference Board measure of consumer confidence was revised down for September, but October made up most of that correction. Consumer confidence in October was at its highest level since September 2000. The composite value of consumer confidence in October was 137.9, up from the revised September value of 135.3. The three-month moving average (3MMA) […]
China continues to outpace the rest of the world in the growth of its steel production. Global steel production in September hit an annual rate of 1.821 billion metric tons. Capacity is calculated to be 2.4 billion metric tons and capacity utilization in September was 76 percent, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis […]
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 3.5 percent in the third quarter of 2018, according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter of 2018, real GDP increased 4.2 percent. The growth in real GDP reflected increases in consumer spending, inventory investment, government spending and business investment. These […]
In third-quarter 2018, the Pacific region regained the lead as the engine of national job creation. Third-quarter employment data by state was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday. The state data follows the national figures that were published on Oct. 5 and confirm the strength of the labor market. The states […]
Architecture firms report that billings slowed in September, but new projects are expected in the coming months. The AIA Architecture Billings Index score was 51.1 last month, down from 54.2 in August. “Similar to the strong conditions we’ve seen nationally, architecture firms located in the Midwest and Southern regions of the country continued to report […]
Voters who go to the polls in Colorado next month will consider Proposition 112, a measure with serious implications for the energy industry in their state, and beyond. “If this passes, not only will it devastate our economy, but also the economies of surrounding states,” an executive from a steel fabricator in Denver told Steel […]
Trade measures by the U.S. are causing concern for the European steel market, according to a new report by the European Union steel association EUROFER. Steel imports are growing faster than domestic shipments by EU mills, according to the Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2018-2019. “Growth is stabilizing in EU steel markets, in line with […]
New orders rose 0.8 percent in September primarily due to an increase in defense spending. Defense aircraft and parts orders soared 119.1 percent for the largest gain for the sector in more three years. Stripping out the defense category, orders fell 0.6 percent for the month. Core capital goods, manufactured goods excluding defense and aircraft, […]