The February Architecture Billings Index, a leading indicator of construction activity, dipped to 50.3 in February from 55.6 in January. Billings growth softened last month, said the American Institute of Architects, but indicators of work in the pipeline, including inquiries into new projects and the value of new design contracts, remained positive. “Overall business conditions […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories through December. Table 1 shows total supply to the market in three months through December and in 12 months through December for the four product groups and the 16 subcategories. Supply to the market is the total of domestic […]
“Your tank broke down? No problem, we’ll just 3-D print a steel replacement part.” Someday this scenario may be a reality for U.S. Army technicians in the field. Researchers at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory are working on a process that will take powdered steel and transform it with lasers […]
A bill to address the nation’s labor shortage looks to immigrant workers to fill jobs in the United States. The Workforce for an Expanding Economy Act, introduced by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.), would create a federal immigration visa system that would allow immigrant laborers to do year-round, non-farm work after the government approves both the […]
Orders for manufactured durable goods increased for the third month in a row, gaining 0.4 percent in January despite economists’ predictions of a decline. Orders were driven by an increase in transportation orders, especially orders for civilian aircraft, which grew 15.9 percent. Excluding the volatile transportation category, durable goods orders declined 0.1 percent. Core capital […]
Editor’s note: Jim Burg will be a panelist at Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit Conference Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. The U.S. economy is dependent on trucks. Trucking moves 50 percent of U.S. GDP. Seventy percent of all freight can only reach consumers by truck. Trucking employs 7.3 million workers of which 3.8 million are truck […]
February’s employment report was not all bad news in spite of the surprisingly low job creation result. Net job creation in February at first glance was terrible, but our analysis of Friday’s reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was not so bad. Job creation in February, at just 20,000, was far below […]
Construction employment was promoted by good weather in January with a reversal in February, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. In February, 25,000 jobs were created in the private sector and government lost 5,000. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update have reports available on our website that break out the import tonnage into district of entry and source nation for six sheet and plate categories. SMU has now developed reports that drill down the HRC and CRC into product detail both nationally and for each district. Using U.S. International […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update receive reports on imports broken down into district of entry and source nation. This drill down report takes the regional analysis to the level of product detail. Our intent is to report this drill down for CR sheet in the rationale that the finer the detail steel buyers have […]
U.S. economic activity continued to expand in late January and February, but might have expanded more were it not for the government shutdown and harsh winter weather conditions, reports the Federal Reserve in its March 6 Beige Book. Ten of the Fed Districts reported slight-to-moderate growth, while Philadelphia and St. Louis reported flat economic conditions. […]
Declining steel prices may have turned around following price increase announcements from the mills, but there’s no sign yet of a similar uptick in steel buyers’ sentiment. Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index, which has been generally trending downward for the past year, saw another slight dip in early March. The goal of the […]
Flat rolled steel service centers are beginning to support the concept of higher steel prices. Distributors are raising spot pricing to their end-user customers, and in the process, they are supporting the domestic steel mill flat rolled price increase announcements. Steel Market Update canvasses the flat rolled and plate steel markets twice a month through […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 11 to 1,027, with oil rigs down 9 and gas rigs down 2. Compared to this time last year, the 1,027 count is […]
A much weaker than expected jobs report showed that only 20,000 jobs were added in the U.S. last month. The unemployment rate was 3.8 percent, dipping from 4.0 percent in January, according to the latest report from Commerce. Average earnings rose 0.4 percent in February for a year-over-year gain of 3.4 percent. In the construction […]
Not surprisingly, steel buyers report a tightening in negotiations with the mills following the two $40 per ton price increases announced in January and February. However, the majority of those responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week say the mills are still willing to talk price–on all products but plate and Galvalume–if […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel continue to slowly move out as the market sees upward momentum following the mill price increase announcements in January and February. Hot rolled lead times now average more than four weeks, cold rolled and plate more than six weeks, and galvanized nearing seven weeks. Lead […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium content with all its readers in this issue. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. U.S. economic growth slowed to 2.6 percent in fourth-quarter 2018, down from 3.4 percent in the third quarter, according to the initial estimate of […]
It is now the beginning of March and time to take a look back at the month of February to see what happened to pricing and trends that impact pricing. The SMU Pricing Momentum Indicator for flat rolled steel was adjusted to higher and our SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index rose when looked at as […]
Global manufacturing growth hit a 32-month low in February. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI dipped to 50.6 from 50.8 the previous month. Operating conditions expanded in the consumer and investment goods sector but deteriorated in the intermediate goods sector, said J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit. International trade was blunted as new export orders fell […]
Manufacturing activity slowed its rate of growth in February, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The headline PMI fell further than expected last month, coming in at 54.2, a 2.4 point decline, and below the general consensus of 55.0. “Production expansion continued in February, but at a slower pace compared to January,” […]
Key market indicators were strong in February, but trends have been deteriorating for a year. This report summarizes 36 data streams that we believe critically describe the state of and provide forward guidance for the steel market. The government statistics departments are gradually catching up after the shutdown, but their revised schedules indicate that it […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive-level subscribers in this issue. For more information on upgrading to a Premium-level membership, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com Key market indicators were strong in March and the trends have improved since January. This report is designed to provide a big picture summary of data we have covered in […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive-level subscribers in this issue. For more information on upgrading to a Premium-level membership, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com Steel Market Update’s analysis of Key Market Indicators shows that U.S. economic trends deteriorated in April to the worst level in 27 months. This report is designed to be a […]
Global steel production in January was at an annual rate of 1.760 billion metric tons (Mt). Capacity is calculated to be 2.4 billion Mt and capacity utilization in January was 74.0 percent, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis of World Steel Association data. In three months through January, China grew by 7.8 percent […]
Consumer confidence rebounded in February as the negative effect of the government shutdown receded. The Conference Board measure of consumer confidence declined each month November through January and surged in February. It appears that the shutdown had a major effect on consumers’ expectations, but not so much on their perception of the present situation. The […]
The American Iron and Steel Institute and the Steel Manufacturers Association are among more than 200 companies and trade associations that have formed the USMCA Coalition to push for prompt congressional approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, the updated version of NAFTA. “We look forward to working with members of the USMCA Coalition to support […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison U.S. economic data for December and January are beginning to come in now that the federal government is funded for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. December housing starts showed a weak end to 2018 as the total of 1.247 million units for 2018 was […]
The MNI Chicago Business Barometer gained 8 points in February, climbing to 64.7, its highest level since December 2017. The February spike in business activity followed a decline to 56.7 in January. New orders rose 15.2 points and production gained 8.5 points. Order backlogs lengthened after declining in January. Supplier delivery times declined for a […]
Oil production in the U.S. was at an all-time high in October last year and declined only slightly in the latest data for November. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has recovered somewhat from its recent low of $44.48 on Dec. 27. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., […]