Tight supplies of graphite electrodes used in the electric arc furnace steelmaking process have raised electrode prices to the point that at least two stainless steel mills have increased their surcharges. Outokumpu was the first with a surcharge of 30 euros (about $35.50) per metric ton on Sept. 27 in most markets except the U.S. […]
U.S. employment contracted in September, and there was more going on than just hurricanes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) net job creation report released on Friday was very disappointing for more reasons than the impact of hurricanes, though they undoubtedly had a big effect. Net job creation in September was negative 33,000 positions. July […]
Responses to several subjects in last week’s Steel Market Update flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire shared a common thread. Comments on demand, pricing, purchases of foreign steel and inventory levels all tended to reflect a bearish attitude among many flat rolled and steel plate service center executives. · On the subject of steel demand, […]
The Steel Manufacturers Association is still confident that the Section 232 investigation on steel imports will bring relief to the U.S. steel industry. SMA President Philip Bell called the investigation a “really complex issue,” during a media call on Monday. Although the administration issued a self-imposed deadline of June 30, which it failed to meet, […]
The global steel industry continues to improve its sustainability record in environmental, social and economic performance, according to the World Steel Association 2017 sustainability report. Worldsteel surveyed 126 steel companies and six associations regarding eight sustainability indicators. The group represents 54 percent of global crude steel production for 2016 or 875 million tons of steel. […]
Over the course of the first four days of this past week (the week of Oct. 2, 2017), Steel Market Update conducted our early October flat rolled steel market trends analysis. One of the areas we track is how steel service centers are handling spot prices on flat rolled steel being sold to their customers. […]
Steel buyers and sellers appear evenly split on whether the renegotiation of NAFTA will benefit their companies. Responses to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire, emailed to several hundred steel executives earlier this week, suggests that most companies don’t really know if the new NAFTA being pursued by the Trump administration will be good for […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to be optimistic about their company’s ability to be successful in the current market environment as well as three to six months into the future. We are seeing signs of what has become a normal mild tapering of enthusiasm as we enter the fourth quarter of the […]
Flat rolled steel lead times have shortened up slightly since mid-September, according to the service centers and manufacturers who responded to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week. Lead time, which is the amount of time it takes for the domestic steel mills to produce a new order from the time the order was […]
Steel mills are even more open to price discussions than they were a couple weeks ago, which may be a reflection of weakening prices, say steel buyers who replied to Steel Market Update’s latest flat rolled market trends questionnaire. More than 100 executives responded to this week’s questionnaire. Steel buyers’ perceptions of their suppliers’ attitudes […]
We are continuing our analysis to quantify the players in the global trade of both hot rolled coil (HRC) and cold rolled coil (CRC). We now have data for the second quarter of this year. This information is sourced quarterly from the Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau in the UK. It takes about 11 weeks […]
We are continuing our analysis to quantify the players in the global trade of both hot rolled coil (HRC) and cold rolled coil (CRC). We now have data through Q2 2017. This information is sourced quarterly from the Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau in the UK. Data is not very current because many countries are […]
The United States’ share of the global steel scrap trade has changed little in the two and a half years through second-quarter 2017. Steel Market Update performs this analysis quarterly to understand the gyrations of the domestic scrap market and where the U.S. stands as a global player. This data is not very current because […]
Manufacturing expanded in the United States, along with the overall economy, as the Institute for Supply Management’s September PMI jumped 2 percentage points to register 60.8 percent. ISM’s New Orders Index gained 4.3 points. New orders have averaged 61.6 percent since December 2016, said Timothy R. Fiore, chairman of ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. Any […]
Global manufacturing stayed steady at a strong reading of 53.2 in September. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI was unchanged from the August reading with consumer, intermediate and investment goods all signaling expansion. Production rose, driven by new orders and international trade volumes and bumping up employment for the month. Higher input costs pushed selling […]
SMU Price Momentum Indicator is now at “lower,” meaning flat rolled steel spot prices are expected to move lower over the next 30 to 60 days. Steel prices have begun to retreat with benchmark hot rolled beginning the month at $630 per ton ($31.50/cwt) and ending the month down $20 to $610 per ton ($30.50/cwt). […]
Steel market indicators look good in the September data. Our view of the present situation is that 50 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance of them are within the band of historically normal. This was the same result as May and August. Along with September, these […]
Economic indicators of manufacturing activity are still healthy overall and portend well for the balance of this year. This report summarizes seven data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the U.S. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications, therefore will be brief in this summary. We […]
The growth of U.S. Gross Domestic Product in second-quarter 2017 was the strongest since first-quarter 2015. On Thursday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released the third estimate of GDP growth in the second quarter. Growth was reported to be 3.06 percent quarter on quarter and 2.21 percent year on year. Economy.com had this to say […]
A sharp rise in the September Chicago Business Barometer indicates a strong fourth quarter for manufacturing. The Barometer rose to 65.2 from 58.9 in August for its second highest level in more than three years. The average reading for the third quarter was a solid 61.0, steady with the second quarter’s three-year high of 61.1. […]
Consumer confidence dipped slightly in September, but continues to be encouraging for the U.S. economy, according to The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index. The composite value of consumer confidence in September was 119.8, down from 120.4 in August. The first estimate for August was revised down from 122.9. The last seven months have each been […]
On Wednesday, Sept. 20, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose above $50 per barrel for the first time since July 31, which was the only day greater than $50 since May 24. WTI closed at $51.86 on the 25th. The number of operating rigs exploring for both oil and gas had a recent […]
The oil and gas drill rig count is increasing rapidly as the price of West Texas Intermediate hovers near $60 per barrel. The spot price of WTI broke through the $60 level on Dec. 29 for the first time since Dec. 18, 2014. It reached $64.22 on Jan. 12 before falling back to $59.41 on […]
Consumer confidence took a hit in the storm-affected regions of the South, but overall remains at high levels, which is positive news for the U.S. economy. “Consumer confidence decreased slightly in September after a marginal improvement in August,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, an independent business research association based […]
Durable goods orders rose more than expected in August, picking up a gain of 1.7 percent versus a forecast for 1.0 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. The increase was welcomed after a 5.8 percent decline in July. A 45 percent jump in the volatile category of nondefense aircraft orders led the increase. Core […]
Autumn is expected to bring stronger economic activity and more work for metalforming companies, according to the latest survey by the Precision Metalforming Association. “Metalforming companies are greeting fall with increased optimism,” said PMA President Roy Hardy. “Predictions from our industry reflect the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report which showed growth through some 36,000 […]
Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of August 2017, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports, and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in August were 88,660,000 metric tons, an increase of 2.8 percent from the previous month and an increase of 1.1 percent from […]
Last Friday, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that the domestic solar industry has been seriously injured by imports of cheap, foreign-made solar cells. The case was brought by solar panel makers Suniva and SolarWorld under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. The ITC now has until Nov. 13 to make recommendations to […]
Congress and the Trump administration are likely to act on both tax reform and infrastructure spending before the end of 2018, predict the majority of forecasters polled by the National Association of Business Economics. NABE conducted its September survey of 47 professional forecasters from Aug. 24 to Sept. 7 (during Hurricane Harvey and before Hurricane […]
On Friday, Steel Market Update (SMU) adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to Lower from Neutral. It is our opinion that flat rolled steel prices will move lower over the next 30 days for the following 10 reasons: First, when the head of commercial of a domestic steel mill tells SMU that “transaction pricing cannot go […]