Essar Steel Algoma reported a net loss of 28.7 million for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2014 ending on June 30, 2013, an improvement over its net loss of 92.7 million at the end of the fourth quarter in March. Sales of $464 million showed an improvement of 4 percent over the previous […]
Industrial production and manufacturing capacity utilization for July 2013 – Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP index was reported as 98.95 for July, up from 98.91 in June this was 1.8 percent below the peak of September 2007. Manufacturing is still making progress. The three month […]
Metal fabricators are reporting stable business conditions according to the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association’s inaugural survey of small to mid-sized metal fabricating companies. No significant growth or shrinkage was noted in new order activity by most respondents. Commodities and logistic prices were also seen as fairly stable. New trucking rules have some respondents expecting higher […]
Manufacturing continued to expand in the Philadelphia region in August but with slightly less optimism for the current pace of growth. The general economic index of The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Business Outlook Survey fell to 9.3 this month from 19.8 in July (its highest reading since March 2011) and has been in the […]
Canadian housing starts in July fell slightly to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 192,853 units from 193,797 units in June. The decrease was 0.5 percent from June levels and 9.5 percent below housing starts in July 2012. Urban starts for single units decreased by 5.5 percent to 58,732 units in July while urban multi-unit […]
Builders are feeling more confident about the housing market according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The August Index shows an increase of three points to 59, bringing the index to its highest level in almost eight years. Of the three components used in the monthly survey to compile the […]
Mexican industrial output surprised analysts by falling 2.4 percent in June compared to the same month in 2012 according to the government’s statistic agency Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía. Output was expected to grow by at least 0.1 percent year over year. Compared to June 2012, construction dropped 6.0 percent, manufacturing declined 1.2 percent […]
Written by: John Packard With other periodicals calling a top or “peak” to the market the pressure has been put on Steel Market Update to clear up the muddied waters. From our perspective, the peak is usually identified when one of the domestic mills breaks ranks and starts cutting deals at numbers less than what […]
Written by: John Packard Essentially our review of the market has found little measurable movement in spot flat rolled prices this week. The opinion of many buyers is the market is closer to the top and any purchases need to be carefully considered prior to making any commitments. Buyers continue to express confidence in their […]
Written by: John Packard ThyssenKrupp AG continues to be in heavy negotiations with the lead bidder (believed to be CSN out of Brazil) regarding the sale of the Steel Americas assets. The assets in question consist of both the Calvert, Alabama operation as well as the CSA slab mill which is located in Brazil. In […]
Written by: Sandy Williams ThyssenKrupp reported adjusted EBIT €332 million ($439M) for the third quarter ending June 30, 2013 for its continuing operations, up from €241 million ($319M) in the second quarter. Third quarter net loss was €218 million in the third quarter as compared to a net profit of €403 million ($534M) in third […]
Written by: John Packard June apparent steel supply came in at 8,728,000 tons which was a 3.75 percent decline compared to the previous year. As you can see by the graphic below, all of the categories came in below June 2012 data. Year to date 2013 is on pace with 2012 averaging 7,900,000 tons […]
On Monday we will begin our mid-August steel market survey. If you receive an invitation we hope you will spend a few minutes and click on the link provided in the invitation and respond to our questionnaire. As mentioned late last week our Steel 101 workshop is sold out and we have at least one […]
Our Steel 101 workshop in Blytheville, Arkansas is officially “sold out.” For those interested in our next Steel 101 workshop we are working on the 2014 schedule and expect to announce the first two for next year within a few weeks. In the meantime, you are welcome to send us an email with your name, […]
Written by: Brett Linton June ferrous scrap exports totaled 1,405,041 metric tons (1,548,791 net tons) with Turkey, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Egypt being the top five countries where scrap was sent. Exports to most of the big players in the market, with the exception of Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam, dropped dramatically from the […]
Written by Sandy Williams Caterpillar Inc. reported second quarter sales and revenues of $14.621 billion, down 15.8 percent from $17.374 billion in the second quarter of 2012. Net profit plunged 43 percent to $960 million in the second quarter of 2013, from $1.699 billion in the second quarter of 2012. In a revision of […]
Written by: Brett Linton For the week ending August 10, 2013, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. steel industry produced 1,862,000 net tons of raw steel, a 1.4 percent decrease over the previous week and a 1.8 decrease over the same week one year ago. The estimated capacity utilization rate […]
As I mentioned above in the first article I am getting pressure to adjust our Price Momentum from Higher to Neutral.I am not willing to do that – yet – and the main reason is we are in a supply driven pricing cycle and the supply issues have not yet been fully resolved.Does this mean […]
Each month Steel Market Update will update our Monthly customers regarding the pricing cycles and any changes which occurred during the month. The month of July saw a continuation of the “up” pricing cycle which began on May 22nd when U.S. Steel announced a $50 per ton price hike. The goal for the first price hike was […]
Flat rolled prices moved higher from the beginning of July through the end of the month. Steel Market Update recorded price increases ranging from $32.50 per ton to as much as $45.00 per ton. In the table below, SMU indices are shown with their range (from high to low) as well as the average and […]
The main issue driving steel prices during the month of July was supply and the constraints in supply related to production issues at the North American steel producers. U.S. Steel Lake Erie Works continued to be on lockout throughout July. The 2.5 million ton a year slab and hot rolled mill was first locked out […]
The domestic steel mills paid more for their scrap during the month of July than the month prior. The higher scrap inputs were one reason behind the domestic mills announcing more price increases as the month progressed. Spot iron ore (China) pricing rose during the month of July and ended the month with 62% Fe […]
Written by: Andre Marshall, CEO Crunch Risk, LLC The month of July ended with a decent week in hot rolled coil (HRC) steel futures with 1119 contracts trading or 22,380 net tons. Open interest on the CME at the end of the month was 1,271 contracts or 25,420 tons. The market saw some hedge buying […]
Based on our analysis of the recently released Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI) data the Apparent Deficit for flat rolled increased to 397,000 tons in June. This comes after a 336,000 ton deficit in May and a 157,000 ton deficit at the end of April. Our analysis of June 2012 indicated service centers at that […]
One of the key items watched by Steel Market Update is service center spot pricing. Service centers have the ability to support price increases or signal the market that spot increases will fail. According to the manufacturing companies participating in our mid-July steel market survey, service centers are pushing for higher prices in the spot […]
Twice per month Steel Market Update (SMU) surveys the flat rolled steel market in order to gage market trends, pricing and Sentiment within the steel community. Since November 2008 SMU has been measuring Steel Buyers Sentiment. The resulting index is measured on a zero to plus 100 (+100) scale for those who are optimistic about […]
The Institute of Supply Management Purchasing Managers Index, (PMI) registered 50.9 percent in June, a decrease of 1.9 percentage points from May’s reading of 49.0 percent, but the three month moving average (3MMA) declined for the third straight month to 50.2 percent. The JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI indicated a sixth consecutive month of expansion in June […]
Over the past decade more steel indices have emerged in the steel commodities markets. All serve the same objective of providing pricing benchmarks for buyers and sellers of steel – and, in recent years, for the financial settlement of derivative contracts. As the number of indices grew so did the questions surrounding the validity of […]
One of the major steel related news stories for the month of July was the OCTG dumping suits filed by 9 U.S. producers. Nine oil country tubular goods (OCTG) producers – U.S. Steel, Maverick Tube Corp., Boomerang Tube, Energex Tube (division of JMC Steel Group), Northwest Pipe Co., Tejas Tubular Products, TMK IPSCO, Vallourec Star, […]
Steel Market Update next workshop will be our Steel 101: Introduction to Steelmaking & Market Fundamentals. The workshop will be held in Blytheville, Arkansas on October 8th and 9th and will include a tour of the Nucor Hickman flat rolled mini-mill. The workshop is intended for those who are relatively new to the industry, those who would […]