Canadian manufacturing sales took its largest jump since February 2013, rising 1.5 percent to $50.4 billion. (Note all dollar amounts are Canadian: 1 Canadian dollar = $.90 US dollar.) Sales were up in 45 percent of the manufacturing sectors in January with primary metal sales leading the gains. Sales for primary metals jumped 8 percent […]
The indexes are beginning to spread out, especially on benchmark hot rolled coil pricing. Steel Market Update saw HRC prices down $15 per ton this past week, SteelBenchmarker was $16 per ton lower (but they only produce prices twice per month), CRU down $5 and Platts held the line even with the previous week. The […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts out its series of producer price indexes for thousands of goods and materials. The latest release on Friday reported February 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 […]
After a shake in confidence last month, metalforming companies are once again optimistic that business conditions will improve in the next three months, albeit only slightly. Metal companies surveyed in the March 2014 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report, however, are anticipating new orders to fall slightly during that same period. Current average daily […]
Haixen Steel, a mill in Shanxi province of China, suspended operations on five blast furnaces after defaulting on a bank loans due on March 7. Haixen is not a top tier Chinese steel mill nor is the default and shutdown a surprise to most. It is a mill heavy in debt and on the Chinese […]
I once asked a friend, who works for a large steel mill, how many different grades of steel they produced – he estimated the number at 1,000! On top of that, each grade can come in any gauge, any width and many may be coated. Mills make an almost unlimited number of different individual types […]
Canada was the highest volume exporter of all carbon and low alloy steel products to the US in both the last 12 and 3 month periods through January with 4,956,812 and 1,172,616 tons respectively (Figure 1). Mexico came in 4th in 12 months after Brazil and Korea but was bumped into 5th place by Russia […]
Housing starts and new home prices both improved in early 2014. Canadian new home prices rose 0.3 percent in January following a 0.1 percent drop in December. The increase in the New Housing Price Index (NHPI) was the largest since May 2012. Prices soared 1.3 percent in the Calgary metropolitan area due to higher material […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S remained negative this week for the 7th consecutive week after being in positive territory for the prior 15 weeks. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price movements […]
In the last three months the US dollar has strengthened against fourteen of the currencies of the major sixteen steel trading nations. In the last one month, that trend has reversed and eleven of the steel trading currencies have strengthened against the US dollar. Table 1 shows the number of currency units that it takes […]
Key Banc recently published its report entitled “The Industrial Cycle: Monthly Update on Key End Markets.” The following is a summary of findings from report that SMU readers may find interesting. Key Banc says the outlook for industrial activity remains positive for 2014. After a dismal performance in January affected by weather conditions, activity rebounded […]
An ousted president, deadly violence, military insurgence and a possible secession—the crisis in the Ukraine has been moving at an alarming speed in the last several weeks. As the Ukraine struggles to create a new government, economic sanctions are increasingly being considered by the global powers to sway preferred outcomes. The US and the EU […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report on non-farm employment beat the consensus expectation of a 150,000 gain in February by showing a net gain of 175,000 jobs. The three month moving average (3MMA) of the net gain has slowed for three consecutive months but the growth trajectory is still on track for a full […]
In an earlier article I talked about price risk in steel and several strategies to hedge that risk. Another, perhaps more important, steel buyer risk is continuity of supply. Steel making is a difficult and dangerous activity, and a global one. Unfortunately suppliers often make (and don’t catch) unusable product. Also, every year there seems […]
On Monday of this week, Steel Market Update (SMU) began our early March flat rolled steel market analysis. We sent invitations to just under 600 companies associated with the industry. Of the companies responding 44 percent were manufacturing companies (end users), 40 percent were steel service centers/wholesalers (distributors), trading companies represented 6 percent of the […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to be optimistic regarding business prospects both in the current market environment as well as looking out 3 to 6 months into the future. Even so, our index was 2 points lower than the +39 measured during the middle of February and at +37 is the lowest […]
Domestic mill lead times continue to be better than they were at this time last year. Hot rolled lead times averaged 3.94 weeks, according to our survey respondents. This is better than the 3.28 week average of one year ago. Cold rolled lead times were reported to be at an average of 6.08 weeks (4.65 […]
On Monday of this week Steel Market Update sent invitations to just under 600 companies to participate in our flat rolled steel market survey. The respondents to our survey consist of manufacturing companies (44 percent of the respondents), service centers/wholesalers (41 percent) and trading companies (6 percent), with the balance being steel mills, toll processors […]
Steel buyers report a softening in new orders in the latest Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Steel Buyer’s Survey. Those who expect orders to increase over the next three months dropped to 27.3 from 42.9 percent in January, 18 percent expect orders to decline, and 54.5 percent expect levels to remain the same. Current incoming […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S remained negative this week for the 6th consecutive week after being in positive territory for the prior 15 weeks. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price movements […]
Manufacturing activity expanded more than expected in February after a weather related drop last month. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing PMI registered 53.2 percent, up from 51.3 percent in January. A reading above 50 indicates the manufacturing economy is growing, a reading below 50 indicates contraction. The new orders index rose 3.3 points […]
Global manufacturing activity showed steady improvement during February. The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.3 in February, inching up from 53.0 in January. Manufacturing output remained steady in February while new orders grew at a faster rate. Employment levels were higher in much of the world with staffing cuts reported in China, Russia and […]
Steel Market Update received the following steel market analysis from one of our member companies based on the Academy Awards. Sometimes it is better to look at the flat rolled steel market with a sense of humor so here goes: Current Market Perspective (inspired by the Academy Awards): The US Steel market continues to be […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) began collecting responses for the mid-February flat rolled steel market survey during the week of February 17th. Even with weather related issues being felt around the country, our Buyers Sentiment Index was measured at a robust +39 at that time. That result was one point lower than from our last measurement […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S remained negative this week for the 5th consecutive week after being in positive territory for the prior 15 weeks. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price movements […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index for general business conditions fell 8 points to 4.5 in the February 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey after rising 10 points in January. New orders were flat for the month, declining 11 points to -0.2. Manufacturers remained optimistic about business conditions for the next six months. The future general business […]
The early sentiment has scrap prices dropping during the month of March but not as strong or as wide-spread as forecast a couple of weeks ago. Flows into the scrap yards have been impacted by the severe weather in the North and this is tempering the drop which, according to at least one SMU scrap […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel Buyers Sentiment Index averaged +39.5 which was down from the +43.5 reported during the month of January. Our SMU Price Momentum Indicator went from Neutral to Lower as we adjusted our indicator to reflect the dropping steel prices which we expect to continue over the next 30 days. Benchmark hot […]
In order to keep their operations running smoothly, steel buyers have to manage the difference between their company’s predicted use of steel and the actual demand. Since flat rolled steel lead times from Steel Mills can be many weeks, buyers have to maintain large safety stock inventories to handle this discrepancy. That does not mean, […]
The Chicago Business Barometer indicated firm growth in February while remaining essentially unchanged at 59.8 in February compared to 59.6 in January, according to MNI Indicators. Production, new orders, and backlogs expanded at a slower rate offsetting double digit growth in employment. Prices paid dropped in February following price increases by suppliers in January. Inventories […]