The U.S. manufacturing sector expanded again in December, gaining 3.2 points to register a PMI of 60.7 percent in the December 2020 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. “The manufacturing economy continued its recovery in December,” said Timothy Fiore, chairman of the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. “Survey Committee members reported that their […]
The Chicago Business Barometer edged up 1.3 points in December to 59.5, reports MNI Indicators. The gain came as a welcome surprise as employment levels, although still in contraction, made notable improvement last month. The production index gained 1.1 points while demand slipped 2.0 points. Order backlogs grew for a second month, gaining 3.6 points. […]
Orders for durable goods rose for the seventh month in November, edging up 0.9 percent after a 1.8 percent gain in October. Transportation equipment orders gained 1.9 percent and included a 2.4 percent rebound in orders for motor vehicles and parts, according to the latest Census data. Core capital goods, orders excluding defense and aircraft, […]
By CRU Senior Cost Economist Ross Cunningham, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Global CO2 emissions have been rising since the start of the industrial revolution. This has caused rising global temperatures and severe weather events such as wildfires, flooding and drought. In 2015 the United Nations framework convention on climate change put together the Paris […]
The U.S. dollar weakened against 15 of the 16 steel and raw materials trading nation currencies in both the last 30 and 90 days. The biggest changes in the last 90 days were in the value of the South African rand, up 12.2 percent, the Korean won and the Mexican peso, both up by 6.0 […]
The United States experienced the least growth among the 10 major steel-producing nations in the three months through November, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Figure 1 shows annualized monthly global steel production on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis and capacity utilization since January 2000 based on capacity […]
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 products and a comparison of truck and rail transportation. On Dec. 10, the BLS released its series of Producer […]
Metalforming firms are expecting business conditions and order activity to remain unchanged during the next three months, said the Precision Metalforming Association in its December 2020 Business Conditions Report. “Metalforming manufacturers are showing resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic, but finding workers continues to be a challenge despite the high unemployment rate,” said PMA President David […]
President-elect Joe Biden will hit the ground running due to his past experience in Washington and the depth of experience of his Cabinet choices, said Omar Nashashibi, founding partner of the Franklin Partnership, during a FABTECH webinar last week. Expect to see a flurry of executive orders and memorandums from the new executive office regarding […]
There was no reprieve in November for architecture firms that have seen billings shrink for the past nine months. The American Institute of Architects reports the Architecture Billings Index slid to 46.3 in November, down from October. Although inquiries into new work have risen, albeit at a slower pace, the value of new design contracts […]
Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that, with U.S. HRC prices nearing $1,000 per ton, foreign imports theoretically have become cheaper than domestic steel prices. U.S. producers have lost their price advantage over HRC imports from Far East Asia by over $100 per ton, and imports from Germany […]
By CRU Analyst Estelle Trans, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service U.S. buyers have been watching sheet steel prices skyrocket and found themselves weighing high-priced imports out of necessity. The steel market remains supply short, even with the restart of U.S. Steel Gary No. 4 this month, and market contacts expect that the market will […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), scrap and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled Hot rolled futures markets have experienced high velocity upward price moves along the futures curve in conjunction with spot over […]
After reaching bottom in June, due largely to the global pandemic, mill shipments and supply of sheet products have since maintained a slow but steady upward trajectory. 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. The analysis […]
The December Empire State Manufacturing Index indicated a loss of momentum in the New York region. The headline General Business Conditions index fell to 4.9 from November’s reading of 6.3. “Like the prior month, manufacturing activity in New York State expanded only to a small degree in December,” said the Federal Reserve Bank of New […]
Data from the World Steel Association through October shows how much global crude steel production has recovered from the worst of the pandemic earlier in the year. Figure 1 shows annualized monthly global steel production on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis and capacity utilization since January 2000 based on capacity data from the OECD. […]
Downstream steel product shipments continue to improve, though slower than the overall manufacturing economy. The fallout driven by the first wave of the global pandemic back in April is still evident in the data despite the steady rebound. The Census Bureau provides monthly data on inventories, shipments and new orders for total U.S. manufacturing and […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor U.S. Steel announced the full buyout of Big River Steel this week, while Cleveland-Cliffs closed on its acquisition of ArcelorMittal’s U.S. assets. In any other week, these headlines would drive the news flow for steel buyers and sellers. However, news this week remains […]
Manufacturing has continued to reshore back to the United States this year, despite the challenges presented by COVID-19. Reshoring will continue to be an essential part of the recovery of the U.S. economy in 2021 and beyond, said Harry Moser, founder of the Reshoring Initiative, an advocacy group he formed in 2010 to bring manufacturing […]
The November employment report released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a net gain of 245,000 jobs, a positive move but only half of economists’ consensus expectations. The gain was down from October’s 610,000 new jobs. In the November data, September was revised up by 39,000 and October was revised down by 28,000. […]
Employment gains have slowed each month since June, with a disappointing result in November, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The net change in employed persons in November was 245,000. Employment gains have slowed each month since June when 4.8 million jobs were recovered. The base line against […]
U.S and Canadian active rotary drill rig counts were steady to up this week, according to updated data released 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 demand. The number of active U.S. rigs rose by 3 […]
U.S. industrial production, manufacturing and durable goods orders continue to improve from the coronavirus pandemic downturn earlier this year. The health of the manufacturing economy has a direct bearing on the health of the steel industry. The Industrial Production Index The IP index is a gauge of output from factories, mines and utilities. Industrial production […]
Economic expansion in November was characterized as “modest or moderate” by the Federal Reserve in its latest Beige Book. Activity slowed in Philadelphia and three Midwest districts as COVID-infection rates surged at the beginning of the month. Higher than average growth was reported for manufacturing, distribution and logistics, homebuilding, and existing home sales. Some sectors […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. David has over 20 years of trading experience in financial markets and has been active in the ferrous futures space for over eight years. You can learn more at www.thefeldstein.com or add him on twitter @TheFeldstein and on Instragram at #thefeldstein. During the […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. David has over 20 years of trading experience in financial markets and has been active in the ferrous futures space for over eight years. You can learn more at www.thefeldstein.com or add him on twitter @TheFeldstein and on Instragram at #thefeldstein. It now […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. David has over 20 years of trading experience in financial markets and has been active in the ferrous futures space for over eight years. You can learn more at www.thefeldstein.com or add him on twitter @TheFeldstein and on Instragram at #thefeldstein. For some […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. David has over 20 years of trading experience in financial markets and has been active in the ferrous futures space for over eight years. You can learn more at www.thefeldstein.com or add him on twitter @TheFeldstein and on Instragram at #thefeldstein. The CME […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. David has over 20 years of trading experience in financial markets and has been active in the ferrous futures space for over eight years. You can learn more at www.thefeldstein.com or add him on twitter @TheFeldstein and on Instragram at #thefeldstein. Today’s CME […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. David has over 20 years of trading experience in financial markets and has been active in the ferrous futures space for over eight years. You can learn more at www.thefeldstein.com or add him on twitter @TheFeldstein and on Instragram at #thefeldstein. February’s service […]