Last week the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act of 2014 was presented in the House of Representatives to renew and strengthen the existing Trade Priorities Act. The American Institute for International Steel supports the bipartisan legislation, saying it is “among the most significant trade bills introduced in Congress.” To read the full press release from the […]
The following article is a continuation of our Steel Buyers Basics series. Today’s article was written by Mario Briccetti. There is a hidden risk in the cost of sheet steel that many buyers do not consider. Most cold rolled and coated steel sheet applications require coverage of an area at a minimum steel thickness – […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel entered the New Year in very high spirits. Our Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel Buyers Sentiment Index was measured at +42 which is the most optimistic level recorded since March 1, 2012 (+45). The rolling three month moving average (3MMA) came in at +38.33 which is a one […]
Canadian building permits declined in November to 18,173, falling 3.6 percent from October. The value of permits issued dropped 6.7 percent to $6.8 billion after gaining 8 percent the previous month. Permit values have been an upward trend with eight monthly increases in 2013. In the residential sector, the total value of permits declined 7.6 […]
Based on the results of our first steel market survey of the New Year, lead times at the domestic steel mills remained at moderately higher than normal. Benchmark hot rolled lead times remained above 4.0 weeks (average). Based on the average of the responses received during the survey process HRC lead times were measured at […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S. remained positive this week for the 13th week in a row after 4 consecutive weeks of being in negative territory. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is based upon the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price weighed against the previous 12-week average spot […]
Steel buyers are expecting general economic activity to remain unchanged to slightly better in the next six months. In the December ISM Steel Buyers Survey 63.6 percent expect conditions to remain the same while 36.4 percent of those surveyed expect improvement. This compares to 66.7 percent and 26.7 percent, respectively, last month. Sales and production […]
ASD Press Release: CHICAGO — The Association of Steel Distributors (ASD) announces that James (Jim) Barnett, president of Grand Steel Products in Wixom, Mich., is the recipient of the industry’s highest honor, the Steel Man of the Year Award. This annual ASD award honors one individual who embodies leadership, dedication, service and excellence in the […]
One of our readers asked us last week if we had ever done an analysis of steel prices and lead times. The answer (now) is yes, we have… So the question we posed to ourselves – is there are relationship between mill lead times (as captured in our SMU steel market survey) and flat rolled […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) would like to share some of the data we collected during the past 12 months. Below is a review of flat rolled steel pricing for 2013, scrap pricing during the year, SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index and more… Benchmark Hot Rolled Pricing in Review Benchmark hot rolled ended 2012 at $635 […]
December US auto sales failed to meet expectations but annual sales still registered as the best year since 2007. December sales were up just 0.3 percent but automakers were pleased with the 7.6 percent overall gains for 2013. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.6 million units was well below the 16.0 million predicted by […]
The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.3 in December from 53.1 in November, expanding for the twelfth consecutive month. Manufacturing production increased at its fastest pace since Feb. 2011, with growth rate of new orders holding steady at November’s rate. Exports rose for the sixth consecutive month. The US, Japan, Germany, the UK […]
In the steel business and particularly in the painted steel business, a fair amount of non-prime or secondary flat rolled sheet and coil product is produced. Non-prime painted steel is generated either because the steel substrate is substandard or because there is a problem in the painting process. A small sample of steel problems are: […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index showed disappointing manufacturing conditions for December. The survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported the general index at 1.0, up three points from November but indicating almost no change in activity for the month. The future outlook index was slightly less optimistic than November with all indices […]
SMU Price Momentum Indicator ended the month of December where it began, indicating higher flat rolled steel prices over the next 30 days. The domestic steel mills did not disappoint as they raised base price levels to $35.00/cwt on hot rolled and $40.50/cwt on cold rolled and coated (plus extras, FOB mill) for the mills […]
Manufacturing activity expanded in December for the seventh consecutive month and rose to its second highest reading of 2013. The PMI (purchasing managers index) registered 57 percent according to the December 2013 ISM Manufacturing Report on Business. New orders, employment, supplier deliveries and prices all grew at a faster rate in December. New Orders increased […]
Chinese iron ore imports rose to 77,840,000 metric tons (MT) in November, a 14.8 percent increase over October tonnage. Compared to the same month one year ago, November imports were up 18.3 percent. Year-to-date (YTD) iron ore imports stood at 746,100,000 MT for the first 11 months of 2013. Steel scrap imports to China were […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The total number of indicators considered at present is thirty six. The present situation of eleven of the indicators based on historical standards was positive on December 28, the same as on November […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index showed disappointing manufacturing conditions for December. The survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported the general index at 1.0, up three points from November but indicating almost no change in activity for the month. The future outlook index was slightly less optimistic than November with all indices […]
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed year-over-year gains of 13.6 percent in October, according to data released December 31, 2013—the largest gain since Feb. 2006. The monthly gain for October 2013 for the 10-city and 20-city composites was 0.2 percent. In the twenty city composite, eighteen cities posted lower monthly rates in October than September […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S. remained positive this week for the 12th week in a row after four consecutive weeks of being in negative territory. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is based upon the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price weighed against the previous 12-week average spot […]
The Chicago Business Barometer slipped 3.9 points to 59.1 in December. It is the second consecutive month that the barometer has fallen but the reading well above 50 indicates expansion is still strong although moderating. New Orders, Production and Order Backlogs continued to expand but at a slower rate. Employment fell to just above the […]
This past week we saw little movement in pricing on most flat rolled steel products due to the Holidays and a general lack of new orders flowing through the system. Benchmark hot rolled is in a fairly tight range at $667 on the low side (CRU) to $675 on the high side (Platts/Steelbenchmarker). The hot […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S. remained positive this week for the 11th week in a row after 4 consecutive weeks of being in negative territory. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is based upon the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price weighed against the previous 12-week average spot […]
The following is a summary from the U.S. Census Bureau advanced report on durable goods for November. The revised and more detailed estimates will be released by the Bureau on January 6, 2014. New Orders: New orders for manufactured durable goods in November increased $8.2 billion or 3.5 percent to $241.6 billion. Transportation equipment led […]
Just like in steel, paint companies and coil coaters work best with customers with whom they have a relationship, companies who clearly understand their needs and are consistent in their tonnages as well as the way they conduct their business. In order to establish this kind of a relationship a buyer should understand the […]
If you look under the “Analysis” tab there will be a drop down menu where you can access Imports/Exports – there is then a sub menu where the last item is imports by product, port and country. This is available only to Premium Level members. The October numbers are on the website. If you have […]
On Monday, December 16th we began collecting data for our last Steel Market Update flat rolled steel market analysis. The way the system works is over the years Steel Market Update (SMU) has vetted a number of companies (many of whom John Packard did business with in the past). Our current list has approximately 600 […]
Manufacturing companies are beginning to report a fracture within the service center ranks. In our latest steel market analysis conducted last week, 12 percent of the manufacturers reported decreasing spot flat rolled prices from their service center suppliers. This is up from 4 percent measured at the beginning of December which was up from zero […]
Last week Steel Market Update invited approximately 600 companies to participate in our mid-December 2013 flat rolled steel market survey. Of the companies responding this past week, 49 percent were manufacturing companies, 39 percent were service centers/wholesalers, 4 percent trading companies, 3 percent steel mills, 3 percent toll processors and 2 percent suppliers to the […]