A new federal regulation will require contractors to toe the line on safety, workplace discrimination, organizing rights, minimum wage compliance and overtime rules if they want to win federal contracts. The order is called “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” and has been in creation since 2014. The rule has now been finalized by the Department […]
The following article is normally shared with just our Premium level members. Steel Market Update (SMU) has a proprietary product whereby we analyze the Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI) carbon flat rolled shipments and inventories at the end of each month. Based on our model, we come up with a number indicating whether service center […]
Manufacturing activity in the Fifth District was weaker in August according to the most recent survey by The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index for August plummeted to -11 after July’s reading of +10. Shipments fell sharply losing 21 points for an index reading of -14, while the new orders index plunged […]
Economic growth increased for a second consecutive month in July according to the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI). The index is a gauge of economic activity and inflation and is expressed by three separate index values: the CFNAI and two 3-month moving average indexes, the CFNAI-MA3 and CFNAI Diffusion Index. The 3-month averages help […]
Last week Steel Market Update conducted our mid-August flat rolled steel market trends analysis. For those new to our newsletter, we invite approximately 600 people representing about 550 companies to participate in our bi-monthly questionnaire. Our normal response rate is 100 to 150 people. Last week’s mix was 44 percent service centers, 43 percent manufacturing […]
The following Steel Buyers Basics article was originally written by Mario Briccetti, CEO of Briccetti and Associates and an instructor for Steel Market Update (Steel 101 & Custom Training). If you would like to learn more on this subject Mr. Briccetti will be at our Steel Summit Conference on the 29th through the 31st of […]
According to Baker Hughes data from August 19, 2016, the U.S rig count for the week was 491 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is up 10 rigs compared to last week, with oil rigs up 10 to 406 rigs, gas rigs unchanged at 83 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at […]
SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index Twice per month, Steel Market Update surveys the flat rolled steel industry. One of the proprietary products which is derived from that expansive survey is the SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index. Sentiment is defined as how buyers and sellers feel about their company’s ability to be successful both in the […]
In our last issue of Steel Market Update we wrote about lead times shrinking as being one of the reasons why we adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator. We cited published lead times by NLMK USA and Nucor Berkeley as examples of the changes we were seeing and discussing with steel buyers. This week we conducted […]
Based on the results of our flat rolled steel market trends survey that Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted all week, steel mills are receptive to negotiate steel prices on some products and less so on others. We are seeing the mills being fairly aggressive on hot rolled price negotiations with 83 percent of our survey […]
The July Architecture Billings Index indicated that design activity for construction projects remains healthy although growing at a slower pace than the past two months. The ABI was at 51.5 in July, just above the average score for the first half of 2016 and down slightly from June’s score of 52.6. New design contracts rebounded […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained negative this week for the fifth consecutive week, following a 28 week long positive streak. MoMo is a trailing indicator and shows the relationship between the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the previous 12-week average […]
For the past nine weeks, Steel Market Update (SMU) has had our Price Momentum Indicator at Neutral. A neutral rating means the market is either in transition or does not have enough momentum to push steel prices in one direction or another. Earlier today SMU adjusted our indicator to “Lower” from Neutral which is a […]
Business activity declined in the New York State area as reported by firms in the August 2016 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline PMI for general business conditions fell for a second month, losing five points to register -4.21. New orders were essentially unchanged at a reading near zero of 1.04. Shipments rose eight points […]
According to Baker Hughes data from August 12, 2016, the U.S rig count for the week was 481 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is up 17 rigs compared to last week, with oil rigs up 15 to 396 rigs, gas rigs up 2 to 83 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged […]
This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through June 2016 and year on year changes. It then compares domestic mill shipments and total supply to the market. It quantifies market direction by product and enables a side by side comparison of the degree to which imports have absorbed demand. Sources are the American Iron […]
At SMU we almost always use three month moving averages to mitigate situations like the dismal and not credible May job creation statistics. In the July report May was revised up slightly from 11,000 to 24,000 and June was revised up from 287,000 to 292,000. This week’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported […]
Steel Market Update speaks with dozens of companies on a daily basis and hundreds over the course of a week. We also receive a large number of emails, facebook and LinkedIn posts. Every so often we like to share some of the comments being made in an article we call “Bits ‘N Pieces.” We learned […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained negative this week for the fourth consecutive week, following a 28 week long positive streak. MoMo is a trailing indicator and shows the relationship between the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the previous 12-week average […]
The Department of Commerce is initiating a new series of reports that detail steel trade flows around the world. The reports will provide a summary of steel activity in 20 countries that will enhance market intelligence for U.S. businesses. The reports will serve as the basis for a new Global Steel Trade Monitor to be fully implemented […]
According to Baker Hughes data from August 5, 2016, the U.S rig count for the week was 464 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is up 1 rig compared to last week, with oil rigs up 7 to 381 rigs, gas rigs down 5 to 81 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs down […]
According to the results of our latest flat rolled steel market trends analysis survey, as steel prices flatten out and lead times begin to come back in, flat rolled steel buyers and sellers are slightly less enthusiastic about their company’s ability to be successful in both the existing market environment as well as 3 to […]
Earlier this week we began our early August flat rolled steel market trends analysis. The process began with invitations going out to approximately 570 steel executives in the manufacturing, service center/wholesaler, trading company, steel mill and toll processing communities. The invitations are purposely heavily weighted toward manufacturing and service center/wholesalers as those two segments purchase […]
The following information was collected from our flat rolled steel market trends survey which we have been conducting since Monday of this week. Much of the collection information is similar to the Lead Times article above as this question is posed to manufacturing companies and distributors. What we are trying to discover is if there […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained negative this week for the third consecutive week, following a 28 week long positive streak. MoMo is a trailing indicator and shows the relationship between the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the previous 12-week average […]
Vallourec, French-based global pipe manufacturer, is expecting challenging market conditions for the oil and gas industry for the remainder of 2016. CEO Phillipe Crouzet said in the company’s second quarter earnings report that the oil and gas market will continue to be “significantly impacted by low demand and intense pricing.” He offered some optimism for […]
Manufacturing activity expanded in July for the fifth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 85th consecutive month, according to supply executives surveyed in the July ISM Report on Business. The PMI registered 52.6 in July, down 0.6 percentage points from June and 2.2 percent above the 12 month average of 50.4. New […]
Global manufacturing began the second half of 2016 on a positive note, according to the JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI, compiled by Markit. The rate of growth for manufacturing rose at a faster rate between June and July on all of the indices that make up the composite PMI. At 51.0 in July, the PMI was […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. It is important to understand the difference between our view of the present situation which is subjective and our analysis of trends which is based on the latest facts available. The total […]
The states compile their employment numbers independently of the Feds, then both are reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The results are close. In the last fourteen quarters since Q1 2013, the Feds reported total job creation of 9,111,000 and the states reported 9,105,400 a difference of only 0.06 percent. Part of this small […]