Yesterday Steel Market Update received a note from USS/POSCO regarding their waiver from the mandatory “shelter in their place of residence” order within Contra Costa County in California. UPI received their waiver due to the “essential nature of UPI’s business and services.” SMU anticipates there may be situations that arise where a mill, manufacturing company […]
The West Texas Intermediate crude price has fallen through $30 per barrel for the first time since September 2003. Normally our price data comes from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), but their data is not keeping up with today’s collapsing market. Their latest was March 6 when they published a price of $42.24 per barrel […]
Flat Rolled = 46.1 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 49 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled As prices eroded in February, service centers further reduced their flat rolled inventories 4.6 percent month on month by month’s end, according to adjusted February data compared with January’s final. With 20 shipping days in February compared to […]
We had to change the way we calculate the adjusted data, which will also change how we derive our analysis. Previously, we adjusted the data to mirror the exact mix of service centers that responded to the previous month’s survey. We saw a decrease in participation in the March survey, which we can understand given […]
The currencies of the commodity dependent nations have crashed in a flight to the safe haven of the U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar strengthened against 13 of the 16 steel and raw materials trading nation currencies in the last three months. In the last 30 days, the currencies of Brazil, Mexico and Russia were down […]
In the last 12 months, the price declines of cold rolled carbon steel and aluminum sheet have been similar. This report is an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data and is intended to provide subscribers with a view of the competitive position of sheet steel, aluminum, plastic and wood. The analysis includes some downstream […]
In the last 12 months the competitive position of steel sheet has improved against aluminum, plastic and wood. This report is an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data and is intended to provide subscribers with a view of where sheet steel stands in terms of pricing compared with aluminum, plastic and wood. The analysis […]
Mill shipments of sheet products in January were the highest since August 2019. This analysis is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import-export data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). This month we are producing a new report for long products and will follow this […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index plummeted 34 points in March to register -21.5, its steepest point drop on record and its lowest level since 2009. Forty-two percent of New York manufacturers surveyed reported that business conditions had worsened during the period. The new orders index tumbled 31 points to -9.3 while shipments fell 20.6 points […]
Demand for long products declined by 3.5 percent in the three months through January, but rebar was up by 9.6 percent. This analysis is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import-export data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). It summarizes total steel supply by product […]
Active U.S. gas and oil rigs slightly declined this past week, while Canadian rigs moderately declined following their annual trend, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The active drill rigs count is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of oil country tubular goods demand. The number of active U.S. […]
Using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) data, Steel Market Update has broken down the import tonnage of cold rolled sheet into coil and leveled, four thickness ranges, and how much was full hard, annealed and high strength. This update examines the total cold rolled sheet and strip imports into the U.S. for 2019 as a […]
Covid-19 continues to spread globally, now detected in at least 103 countries. More than 80,000 cases have been reported in the epicenter of China and worldwide more than 114,500 people have been infected. The number of deaths reported has jumped to over 4,000. Testing for the virus has been slow in the U.S. as the […]
Crowe, a public accounting, consulting and technology firm, will host a workshop–“Technology Strategies: How Metals Companies are Making Digital Transformation a Reality”–as part of the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference. The workshop will be held at the Marriott Gateway Hotel next to the Georgia International Convention Center on Monday, Aug. 24, just prior to the […]
In February, job creation beat expectations, and there is no sign of a virus effect even in the details. Net job creation in February was a surprising 273,000. In addition, December was revised up by 37,000 and January up by 48,000. Rising employment and wages are the main contributors to GDP growth because personal consumption […]
February’s employment report showed a turnaround in manufacturing, while construction continued to boom. The net increase in employed persons was 273,000 in February, the same as an upwardly revised result for January. In February, 42,000 jobs were created in construction and 15,000 jobs in manufacturing. The private sector gained 228,000 jobs in February and government […]
Steel buyers sentiment, as measured by Steel Market Update, has moved up and down within a small, three-point range since the beginning of the year. Both Current and Future Sentiment registered a very slight uptick in the past few weeks and remain in optimistic territory well above the average of +47 to +51 in 2019. […]
Average mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel saw little change this past week. In fact, according to Steel Market Update’s surveys of the market, lead times have moved up or down by just a day or two, depending on the product, since the beginning of the year. Lead times for steel delivery […]
Price negotiations have tightened up noticeably as the mills seek to collect the $40 price increase they announced last week. Significantly more of the service center and manufacturing executives responding to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week said the mills are holding the line on prices, especially for hot rolled and galvanized. In the hot […]
Last week’s price hike by the mills did little to change the outlook of most steel buyers. The majority (52 percent) of those responding to Steel Market Update’s canvass of the market this past week still believe prices will remain the same, despite the latest $40 increase announced by the mills on Feb. 27. Another […]
Thomas Gibson, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, will retire this fall. A search for his successor begins immediately. Gibson has led AISI since September 2008. Under his leadership, the institute successfully advocated for legislation to strengthen the trade laws against unfair trade practices and level the playing field for steel […]
Now a rising concern in the U.S., the coronavirus is not only a tragic pandemic but a major economic disruption. The public is now invited to join the CRU Webinar: “How COVID-19 is affecting CRU’s outlook for 2020,” hosted by CRU economic and commodity experts and recorded on March 5. Click below to view additional […]
The coronavirus has begun to affect business in the United States, according to the latest Federal Reserve “Beige Book.” The economy is moving forward at a modest to moderate pace, but growth is uneven. The virus appears to be negatively impacting travel and tourism in the U.S., which showed only moderate to flat growth in […]
In just a few weeks from the first known case, the COVID-19 outbreak has wreaked havoc on the global manufacturing sector. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI posted a steep decline in February, falling to 47.2 from 50.4 in January, its lowest level since May 2009. New orders and production fell at record rates in […]
U.S. manufacturing activity grew only slightly in February, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The Institute for Supply Management reported that the February PMI decreased 0.8 points to 50.1, just above the no-change mark of 50. The PMI for new orders fell into contraction at 49.8, while production dropped four points to […]
Active U.S. and Canadian rig counts declined slightly this past week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The active drill rigs count is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of oil country tubular goods demand. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 1 to 790, with oil rigs […]
Looking back at the numbers for February, flat rolled steel prices declined from January, with the benchmark price of hot rolled dipping to a monthly average of $576 per ton. Steel Market Update’s Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indexes showed some erosion, likely as a response to the weak steel prices and concerns over […]
The Chicago Business Barometer nearly emerged from contraction in February. The manufacturing index, produced by MNI Indicators, gained 6.1 points to post 49.0, the highest level since August 2019. The three-month average for the index edged up to 46.7. Production reached an eight-month high, gaining 8.3 points to register 51.0 after seven straight months below […]
Steel Market Update raised its Flat Rolled Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral yesterday from Lower in anticipation of a price hike believed imminent from the mills. As expected, Nucor and U.S. Steel both announced increases today of $40 per net ton on all new spot orders of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel, effective […]
World crude steel production totaled 154.4 million metric tons in January, a 2.1 percent increase compared to January 2019, reported the World Steel Association in Brussels. China’s crude steel production for January totaled 84.3 million tons, an increase of 7.2 percent compared to January 2019. Steel output in February will be hurt by the COVID-19 […]