The Architecture Billings Index remained stuck at a score of 40 for the third consecutive month in August, indicating a prolonged decline in billing activity at architecture firms. The new project inquiries index provided a glimmer of optimism, rising for the first time since February to a positive score of 51.5. The value of new […]
Ford and Canadian union Unifor have reached a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract. Contract negotiations were extended after the original contract expired yesterday at midnight. Both parties agreed to work through the night to avoid a strike by Canadian autoworkers. Ford was selected by Unifor to set the pattern for automotive negotiations with […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen and Economist Anissa Chabib The U.S. economy has seen a faster than expected resumption of economic activity since the “stay at home” orders ended in May. Most notable has been the improvement in the labor market. The number of people who lost their jobs in March and April was […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel 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 Since I last reported on the last Thursday in August, we have seen a strong move higher in both spot […]
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. Following is an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Producer Price Index data. The PPI is a family of indexes that measure the average change over time in the prices received […]
The U.S. dollar weakened against 12 of the 16 steel and raw materials trading nation currencies in the last 30 days and against 11 in the last 90 days, which is similar to the declines that we reported for June and July. The biggest changes in the last 90 days were in the value of […]
U.S. manufacturing indicators continued to show signs of improvement in July and August data as the economy recovers from the coronavirus shutdowns. The health of the manufacturing economy has a direct bearing on the health of the steel industry. The Industrial Production Index The Industrial Production (IP) index is a gauge of output from factories, […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco Holdings is nearing the finish line on its comprehensive blast furnace upgrade and reline project at Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ontario. The project is current on budget and on schedule for completion in early October 2020. The upgrades will create “what we believe will be the first smart blast furnace […]
The U.S. has reversed its position on imposing tariffs on Canadian aluminum imports. The U.S Trade Representative said in a statement on Sept. 15, “After consultations with the Canadian government, the United States has determined that trade in non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum is likely to normalize in the last four months of 2020, with imports declining sharply […]
Business activity continued to improve in New York State in September. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business conditions index soared 13 points to a reading of 17.0, its third consecutive positive reading this year. New orders rose modestly while shipments increased significantly, gaining seven points to register 14.1. Delivery times lengthened and inventories and […]
By CRU Analyst Kevin Bai, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Domestic sheet prices in China continued to reach new highs for the year alongside further improvement in underlying sheet demand in combination with limited supply. Domestic CR coil prices went up by RMB290 /t to RMB4720 /t and HDG sheet by RMB140 /t to […]
Ashland, Ky., will get a welcome infusion of jobs from Danieli USA after the closing of AK Steel Ashland. Danieli has rented a 130,000-square-foot building near the AK Steel mill and will operate a repair and refurbishment center serving steel producing clients in North America. The Italian firm is one of the world’s largest suppliers of […]
Employment in manufacturing and construction is recovering much more slowly than in the overall economy. The net change in employed persons was negative 20.8 million in April. Each month since then has had positive growth, but the recovery slowed in July and August. We have created a new summary chart for August to track the overall […]
The net change in employed persons in September was 661,000. Employment gains have slowed each month since June when 4.8 million jobs were recovered. The baseline against which future comparisons will be made is February 2020, the all-time high for nonfarm employment. Figure 1 shows the total number of people employed in the nonfarm economy. […]
Through October, manufacturing has added 742,000 jobs and construction 789,000 since the pandemic-driven crash in April. The baseline against which future comparisons are made in this analysis is February 2020, the all-time high for nonfarm employment. Figure 1 shows the total number of people employed in the nonfarm economy. Table 1 is designed on rolling […]
This week’s comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S-produced steel continues to hold a price advantage over foreign imports, but that price advantage is lessening due to the rapid rise in domestic prices, according to SMU and CRU indices. The price differentials between domestic HRC compared to foreign imports had widened over […]
SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a Director at Cargill Risk Management, and […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook Since lockdown restrictions eased in May the global recovery has been strong, but with marked differences across countries and sectors. The strong recovery in China is partly due to its better virus trajectory over the summer, which has allowed confidence to return. This has […]
By CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor In the past week, iron ore prices remained steady. Despite somewhat lower demand from hot metal production, pre-holiday restocking activity kept iron ore port outflows at a high level while the seaborne supply registered one of the best weeks in the year so […]
Steel Market Update is please to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level membership, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Nonfarm employment is improving, but made back less than half the losses seen in the two months of March and April in the four-month period from May through August. The August jobs […]
The September jobs report was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday and failed to meet the consensus expectation. September’s net gain was 661,000. The average monthly gain in the four months May through August was 2.7 million. In the September data, the July gain was revised up by 27,000 and August […]
The economy added 638,000 jobs in October, exceeding consensus expectations, reported the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Expectations were for a gain of 600,000. In the October data, the August gain was revised up by 4,000 and September was revised up by 15,000. Of the job losses in March and April, 10,090,000 are still unemployed. Figure […]
Zekelman Industries has launched a national advertising campaign advocating for increasing the level of manufacturing in the United States. Over the course of September and October, the company estimates its campaign will generate an estimated 315 million impressions, reaching decision-makers and policy influencers outside of the brand’s typical target audience of distributors, contractors, building developers and […]
Economic activity increased modestly in most of the U.S. in August but remained well below pre-COVID-19 levels, said the Federal Reserve in its latest Beige Book publication. “Continued uncertainty and volatility related to the pandemic, and its negative effect on consumer and business activity, was a theme echoed across the country,” said the Fed in […]
Steel prices gained momentum in August as demand improved and the mills announced a new round of price increases. As of last week, Steel Market Update’s hot rolled price average had risen to $485 per ton, up $45 in just two weeks from the mid-month low, and has since topped the $500 mark. Scrap prices were flat […]
The Trump administration has announced a tightening of Brazil’s steel quota that will sharply reduce the tonnage of steel slabs imported into the U.S. for the rest of the year. “In light of recent deterioration in market conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic affecting domestic steel producers, the United States has deemed it necessary […]
In response to U.S. complaints of recent surges, Mexico has agreed to strictly monitor exports of standard pipe, mechanical tubing and semifinished products through June 1, 2021. In exchange, the U.S. will maintain Mexico’s exemption from the Section 232 national security tariffs, said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in a statement on Monday. Section 232 […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: A number of readers have asked for particulars on the recent actions on steel trade between the United States, Brazil and Mexico. The numbers are available in some detail now. I will try to explain these for the […]
The U.S manufacturing sector expanded faster in August, according the Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The August PMI rose 1.8 points to 56.0 in August for the highest reading of the year and indicated a fourth month of expansion after a contraction in April. The new orders Index jumped 6.1 points to 67.6 percent, while […]
The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose to a 21-month high in August, driven by the restart of production and businesses following COVID-19 shutdowns. The composite PMI rose to 51.8 in August from 50.6 in July, its second month in a row in expansion territory. Manufacturing output grew for a second month after five months […]