Sales of newly constructed single-family homes leapt 4.3% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 923,000, said the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. Sales compared to a year ago soared 19.3%. “Historically low mortgage rates and solid demand spurred an increase in new home sales in January, with the sales pace more than 19% […]
Steel prices will likely stay elevated until supplies catch up with demand, say the experts, so is there enough foreign steel on the way here to make a difference? Two out of three respondents to a recent SMU survey said foreign offers are very competitive versus domestic prices. With steel prices in the U.S. at […]
Home prices continued to accelerate through December, culminating in the highest annual gain in seven years. The National Composite Index for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices rose 10.4% in December compared to a year ago. “As COVID-related restrictions began to grip the economy in early 2020, their effect on housing prices was unclear,” said Craig […]
Auto assemblies in North America took a step back in January after seeing a strong end to 2020. Although the U.S. market continues to rebound from the effects of the pandemic, domestic light vehicle sales fell by 3.1% in January compared to year-ago levels, according to LMC Automotive (LMCA). Canada’s light vehicle sales were down […]
“Snowmageddon” did not help. Steel buyers are telling Steel Market Update that last week’s “Snowmageddon,” as one buyer called it, has caused steel orders into the South and South Central sections of the United States to be pushed out an additional one to two weeks. “We’re seeing some adjustments arising out of last week’s weather with […]
Finding that perfect house just became harder. The National Association of Realtors reports that inventory of existing homes at the end of January fell to a record low of 1.04 million units, a whopping 25.7% decline year-over-year. At the current sales rate, supply is at an all-time low of 1.9 months. Sales for the month […]
Steel Buyers Sentiment, as measured by Steel Market Update, hit a very optimistic +70 this week, not far from the highest reading ever recorded at +78 in January 2018. Future Sentiment was nearly as bullish at +63, just 14 points below its historical peak of +77, also in early 2018. Both Current Sentiment and Future […]
It is my opinion the U.S. is entering a “super cycle” that will be good for the steel industry and could well keep steel prices above the historical $600-$650 per ton average on benchmark hot rolled coils. This does not mean prices won’t scale back once more supply comes into the market. I am of […]
Many buyers have been expecting lead times for deliveries of spot steel orders to begin shortening in response to added mill capacity and more import arrivals, but there’s no hint of such a change yet in Steel Market Update lead times data. In fact, SMU’s check of the market this week shows lead times for […]
Lead times for spot orders of cold rolled and coated products have now extended to more than 10 weeks, while lead times for hot rolled now exceed nine weeks, based on Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week. Despite widespread expectations that mill lead times are overdue to reverse course as supplies catch […]
Soaring prices and delivery delays for steel, lumber and other materials are squeezing the finances of construction firms already burdened by the pandemic, said the Associated General Contractors of America. The trade group called on the Biden administration to review and rescind a range of trade tariffs, which it claims are contributing to unmanageable price […]
Steel Market Update data shows no significant change in the negotiating position of steel buyers, who remain largely at the mercy of the mills. More than nine out of 10 buyers responding to SMU’s questionnaire this week reported the mills unwilling to discuss price concessions—which has been the mills’ attitude for the past five months. […]
All but a tiny 3% of respondents to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week reported that the flat rolled mills remain unwilling to negotiate steel prices. Plate negotiations are only slightly more open, with 17% of buyers saying there is some wiggle room in price talks with the plate producers. As long as steel demand […]
Severe winter weather across North America has forced automakers to reduce shifts or temporarily halt production from Michigan to Mexico. But the impact–not only of the weather but also of natural gas shortages and power outages–appears to be more fleeting than the problems posed by a microchip shortage, which has caused some plants to shut […]
Housing starts slowed in January as contractors struggle to build affordable homes amidst rising construction costs. Housing starts slid 6.0% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.58 million, according to the latest report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. “The weakness in housing starts […]
Good news for NLMK USA customers as the mill has worked out a tentative agreement with the union at their Farrell, Pa., facility, which will end the strike that goes back to late August. Once back in production, this will help (slightly) with some of the supply issues we have been seeing in the market. […]
Black Swan Events One of the areas I cover when I am teaching my segment of our Steel 101 workshop is Black Swan Events and how they can impact the steel market – especially steel prices. Most of the United States appear to be having a Black Swan Event in the form of unusually cold […]
December heating and cooling equipment shipments totaled just over 1.8 million units, up 8.9% from November and up 12.2% from levels one year prior, according to recent data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Total shipments for 2020 reached 22.2 million units, up 6.8% over both 2019 and 2018. As seen in the […]
Flat Rolled = 40 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 46.5 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled End-of-January service center flat rolled steel inventories fell back to levels seen in November 2020. At the end of January, service centers carried 40 shipping days of supply – tied with November for the lowest inventory level in […]
The Biden administration plans to address the semiconductor shortage that has hobbled North American automotive production as it reviews “potential choke points” in industrial supply chains. The semiconductor shortage is also “one of the central motivations for the executive order the president will sign in the coming weeks to undertake a comprehensive review of supply […]
General Motors warned that high steel and metals prices combined with a global chip shortage could cost it billions. “We expect commodity prices to be a significant headwind as platinum group metals and steel prices have seen major increases in recent weeks and months,” GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said in a recent earnings […]
Total construction expenditures rose further in January to about $1.52 trillion, up 1.7% from December’s revised estimate of $1.50 trillion, reported the U.S. Census Bureau. The year-on-year comparison is rather remarkable, as the January figure is 5.8% above the year-ago, pre-pandemic estimate of $1.44 trillion. Although the economy is still in recovery mode, the construction sector continues to […]
Some of you may have noticed that we have adjusted our language when it comes to the SMU Price Momentum Indicator. At this moment, the momentum indicators for hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and plate steels are pointing toward higher prices over the near term (next 30 to possibly as far out as 60 […]
Steel Market Update released the final detailed report on service center inventories and shipments to our data providers on Friday. It will be released to our Premium level members tomorrow. I mentioned in Thursday’s Final Thoughts that watching this data is one of the keys to figuring out when the market may get to a […]
General Motors has extended production shutdowns stemming from a microchip shortage at three North American plants through at least mid-March. The move impacts GM’s Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas, its CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, and its San Luis Potosi plant in Mexico, the company said on Tuesday, Feb. 9. GM had already effectively stopped […]
Losses in construction employment continue to worry the industry, said the Associated General Contractors of America in their January analysis of government data. January’s unemployment rate was 9.4 percent, compared to 5.4 percent in January 2020, with 3,000 jobs lost last month. AGC estimated 938,000 former construction workers were unemployed in January, compared to 515,000 […]
Adoption of electrical vehicles is beginning to accelerate as consumer fears of “range anxiety” are quelled by longer range batteries and more charging stations that are appearing in the public domain. It’s a bit of a “field of dreams” scenario for the EV market—if you build it (the infrastructure), they (drivers) will come. A webinar […]
A global semiconductor shortage continues to hobble automotive production in North America with Ford and Stellantis poised to cut production at assembly plants making some of the most popular vehicles in the U.S. Ford’s Dearborn, Mich., truck plant will run one of three production shifts the week of Feb. 8. And its Kansas City, Mo., assembly […]
Steel buyers are feeling good about their prospects later this year, as this week’s Steel Market Update Future Sentiment Index saw its highest reading in more than two years at +66, a 13-point jump over the past two weeks. Current Sentiment, which saw a small, four-point bump to +68, is equally optimistic. Every two weeks, […]
The Dodge Momentum Index, a measure of the first report for nonresidential construction projects in planning, gained 3.1% in January to register 139.4 The commercial component of the index jumped 9.9% offsetting an 11.7% decrease in the institutional component. “January’s increase marked the highest level in the Momentum Index since the COVID-19 pandemic began,” said […]