Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew again in December, though at a slightly slower pace than in November, with the overall economy achieving a 19th consecutive month of growth, reports the Institute for Supply Management, Tempe, Ariz. “The December Manufacturing PMI® registered 58.7%, a decrease of 2.4 percentage points from the November reading of 61.1%,” said Timothy R. Fiore, […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. U.S. consumer confidence rose for the third straight month in December, following a slight upward revision on November’s results and steady momentum after decreasing from July through September, reported The Conference Board. […]
There’s surprisingly little consensus among market participants about where steel prices will be next year, even though 2022 is just around the corner. That’s a big departure from the last 12 months, when respondents to Steel Market Update surveys were roughly in agreement on where prices would be in the future – or at the very least […]
Steel Buyers Sentiment, as measured by Steel Market Update, has not reacted much to declining steel prices. Perhaps because prices remain well above historical averages even after big declines – more than 18% when it comes to hot-rolled coil – over the past three months. Indeed, 2021 was a record year for many companies, leaving […]
In line with the declining steel prices, lead times for spot orders from the mills continue to shorten with the average for hot rolled now below five weeks and cold rolled and galvanized now below eight weeks, based on Steel Market Update’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday. Lead times for all products […]
As the upward slope of the green bars in the charts below clearly illustrate, the bargaining position in steel price negotiations has been steadily shifting in favor of steel buyers for the past three months. Since September 2020, it had been a seller’s market, with steel in short supply. Until lately, the mills have had […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annual 2.3% rate in the third quarter, up from the prior estimate of 2.1% but still at the slowest pace in more than a […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The Energy Information Administration’s December Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) remains subject to high levels of uncertainty because of the unique nature of a pandemic-era economic recovery and the uncertain impact of the Omicron […]
By Philip Bell, President, Steel Manufacturers Association As we approach the holidays, there are some who believe that a swift Section 232 deal with Japan is essential. Some also believe a Japanese deal should be equivalent to the deal reached with the European Union this October. The notion of a Jan. 1, 2022, deal deadline […]
Monthly Key Market Indicators, as analyzed by Steel Market Update, continued their shift to a neutral position over the past month with positive indicators eroding further, slipping for the sixth successive month. What began as a typical summer slowdown, worsened by a surge in Delta cases and a less-than-ideal job market, has been compounded by […]
Manufacturing in the state of New York saw a strong growth rate in December, exceeding November’s by a slight margin, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline general business conditions index rose 1 point to 31.9 during the month. The index closes out the year on an upbeat note with gains in November and […]
Flat Rolled = 57.1 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 60.2 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled U.S. service center flat rolled inventories rose again in November, according to Steel Market Update data. At the end of November, service centers carried 57.1 shipping days of supply on an adjusted basis, compared to 56.7 shipping days […]
Producer prices expanded 1.4% in November, seasonally unadjusted, climbing consecutively since reaching the most recent bottom 20 months ago, reports the U.S. Labor Department. Persistently high prices in large part continue to reflect clogged supply chains, as manufacturers scramble to keep up with unusually strong consumer demand. The Labor Department said that its Producer Price Index […]
Backlogs at the nation’s ports are improving, but it probably won’t be until mid-2022 before the bottlenecks clear and shipments of steel and other imports begin to return to normal. “I think it will get better by the middle of next year,” predicted Doug Wray, vice president commercial for Ports America, who will be a […]
With 2022 just around the corner, steel buyers are looking back at one of the most profitable years in their history – thanks to all-time-high steel prices seen in 2021. That explains some of the staying power of lofty readings in Steel Market Update’s Sentiment Index. SMU surveys buyers every two weeks and asks how they view […]
Total mill shipments of steel products edged up 1.4% in October to 8.619 million tons, following a 12.2% fall the month prior. Apparent supply slipped for the second straight month in October, down 2.2% on top of a 6.9% decline in September. October’s contraction marks the first month-on-month decrease in steel supply since apparent supply fell […]
Lead times for steel sheet and plate continued to decline over the past two weeks, shortening by an average of more than a week. The move correlates with a sharp downtrend in steel prices. Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market shows the average lead time for hot rolled orders nearing five weeks. Cold rolled […]
The pendulum has passed bottom and finally begun to swing the other way in price negotiations. Steel mills no longer hold a dominant bargaining position over spot buyers. That shift is consistent with the shortening lead times and declining prices reported by Steel Market Update. SMU asks buyers every two weeks whether mills are willing […]
U.S. steel product shipments rose for a sixth straight month in October, expanding by 1.7% versus the prior month. The pace of growth has been steady over the past few months. Steel product shipments have grown at a rate just under 2.0% month on month since July and keeping a steady upward trend since May. […]
Looking for floor plate for Christmas? What about hot-rolled coil for the New Year? You’re in luck. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.’s steel mill in Riverdale, Ill., can get floor plate to you by Dec. 25, or just 18 days from now. And most of its sheet mills can get you hot-rolled coil by Jan. 1, or 25 days […]
November was a major letdown for the U.S. labor market, which added just 210,000 jobs, though the unemployment rate ticked slightly lower. The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in November, in a sign that hiring started to slow even ahead […]
U.S. job growth was weaker than expected in November, well below estimates for the third time in the past four months. November payrolls rose by 210,000, well below the 573,000 anticipated by Wall Street and a disappointing showing following the 531,000 new jobs added the month prior. Despite the big hiring miss, the unemployment rate […]
By CRU Chief Economist and Head of Sustainability Jumana Saleheen and CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett, from CRU’s Economic Outlook, Nov. 30 Global Economic Outlook November 2022 In this Global Economic Outlook, we look ahead to 2022 and outline our top 10 calls for the global economy. These include predictions on world growth, inflation, exchange […]
The number of active oil and gas drill rigs was unchanged in the U.S. this past week, while the Canadian rig count increased, according to data released Friday by oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The rig count is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) demand. The […]
The U.S. economy expanded at a modest rate from late October to early November, the Federal Reserve said in its latest Beige Book report. Overall growth was again constrained by supply-chain disruptions and labor shortages. Consumer spending increased modestly. But low inventories held back sales of some items, notably light vehicles. Leisure and hospitality activity picked […]
New orders, production, employment, and imports grew in November. But prices fell, and delivery delays increased on tightening backlogs. That’s the takeaway from the Institute for Supply Management’s latest Manufacturing Report on Business. ISM’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 61.1% in November, up 0.3 percentage points from October and indicating continued expansion in the overall economy for the […]
U.S. manufacturing activity fell to its lowest point of the year in November. Producers reported near-record supply delays, the slowest new order inflows year-to-date, and waning job growth, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing PMI data from IHS Markit. The report noted that extended lead times, supplier shortages and higher energy prices pushed the rate of […]
Steel prices declined for the third consecutive month in November, following a 12-month streak of continuous price increases. Hot-rolled coil prices declined $105 per ton throughout the month, with the SMU index averaging $1,770 per ton ($88.50 per cwt) as of Tuesday, Nov. 30. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for hot-rolled coil was adjusted from Neutral […]
U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a modest 2.1% annual rate in the third quarter, the slowest pace in more than a year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). U.S. third-quarter economic growth was slowed by the Delta variant’s disruptions to consumer spending and global supply chains. The second review by the BEA […]
World crude steel production grew slightly in October after contracting for the four prior months. Steelmakers around the world produced an estimated 145.7 million metric tons of crude steel in October, up 0.9% or 1.3 million tons from the prior month, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel) data. Since repeated months of record-breaking output from […]