New home sales rose a solid 7.1 percent in August and jumped 18 percent from a year ago, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 713,000. “With job growth continuing and lower interest rates in […]
There have been some discussions recently with articles written about the global scrap trade and China. China is the world’s largest steel producing nation with 50 percent (or greater) of the world’s steel production. A couple of years ago, I received information from one of my Chinese trading contacts about scrap steel being exported out […]
Price growth continues to slow in the housing market, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index for July 2019 reported an average annual gain of 3.2 percent, unchanged from June. The 20-City composite posted a 2.0 percent gain from 2.2 percent in the prior […]
I received numerous notes regarding a hot strip mill outage at AMNS Calvert, which began last week. Based on reports from steel buyers, the HSM outage was expected to last for about one week. We asked ArcelorMittal for information and confirmation yesterday, but they failed to respond. Today, we received information that the Calvert lead […]
The strike by United Auto Workers at General Motors is disrupting sister operations in Canada. As Day 5 of the strike began Friday, GM Canada announced layoffs for more than 2,500 of its workers. Union leaders expect further reductions next week. General Motors Canada laid off about 1,200 workers at the assembly plant in Oshawa […]
A workforce shortage continues to impede gains in construction employment, says the Associated General Contractors of America. Thirty-nine states added construction jobs between August 2018 and August 2019, while construction employment increased in 29 states from July to August, according to AGC’s latest analysis of Labor Department data. “Even more states probably would have posted […]
I highly encourage you to read the Global Steel Import Monitor put out quarterly by the U.S. Department of Commerce. It was just published for September 2019. In it are all kinds of statistics concerning U.S. steel trade. In 2018, despite antidumping duties on 35 countries, countervailing duties tacked onto 10 of those countries and […]
The strike by 48,000 members of the United Auto Workers against General Motors extended through its fourth day on Thursday with reports of some progress, but much negotiation still to come. Suppliers to the nation’s largest automaker are reportedly starting to feel the effects of cancelled deliveries and lost sales, with some announcing layoffs and […]
Housing starts rebounded in August, jumping 12.3 percent from July and 6.6 percent from a year ago to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,364,000. Multifamily construction surged 30.9 percent and single-family starts 4.4 percent from July. “Housing has been on an upswing in recent months as the pace of permits and starts has been […]
Existing home sales grew for the second consecutive month with three U.S. regions reporting higher gains, said the National Association of Realtors. Sales rose 1.3 percent from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.49 million in August. Sales were up 2.6 percent from a year ago. Sales of single-family homes rose 2.9 percent […]
Editor’s note: This article was originally shared on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The September Service Center Inventories Report will be sent to data providers on Monday, Oct. 14, and shared with Premium subscribers shortly after. Flat Rolled = 55.8 Shipping Days of Supply Plate Steels = 52.1 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled Service center flat […]
Service centers and manufacturing companies are telling Steel Market Update of softening demand, shortening lead times (may not be in the published numbers, but orders are coming out early), and negotiable pricing. Many buyers are sitting on their hands and only buying what they need. On top of this, SMU Service Center inventories appear to […]
Steel Market Update’s analysis of flat rolled and plate inventories and shipments, reported earlier this week to data providers and Premium subscribers, shows flat rolled inventories of 55.8 days of supply, and plate inventories of 52.1 days, as of the end of August. Service center flat rolled inventories remained elevated, while plate saw a reduction […]
Steel Market Update’s analysis of flat rolled and plate inventories and shipments shows flat rolled inventories of 55.8 days of supply, and plate inventories of 52.1 days, as of the end of August. Service center flat rolled inventories remained elevated, while plate saw a reduction in supply last month to the lowest level seen all […]
Builder confidence hit a one-year high in September, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The HMI, which measures builder perceptions of current and future sales of new single-family homes, rose one point to 68. The HMI index gauging current sales conditions increased two points to 75 and the component measuring traffic of […]
For those of you who are not aware, my Final Thoughts is an area where I will sometimes provide my opinion or view of the marketplace. Understand that these are my comments and are not coming from any steel mills, service centers, trading companies or the financial community. You can take them or leave them; […]
Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index saw a slight uptick this week, but not one big enough to indicate a significant change of direction. Industry sentiment has trended downward for much of the year and has been stuck in a mediocre range for the last few months over concerns about demand and pricing. Buyers’ […]
United Auto Workers called for a strike at General Motors beginning at 11:59 p.m. tonight, Sunday, Sept. 15. On Saturday evening, UAW Vice President Terry DIttes announced there would be no extension of the current 2015 collective bargaining agreement. “We stood up for General Motors when they needed us most. Now we are standing together […]
John Packard is on vacation… Mill executives have been quick to deflect criticism of their plans to spend billions on mill modernizations and upgrades, arguing that the market will be able to absorb the new capacity–but most steel buyers aren’t buying it. Three out of four respondents to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this […]
The pendulum appears to have swung back in buyers’ favor as service centers and OEMs report most mills willing to negotiate to secure spot orders of all types of steel products. In the hot rolled segment, 82 percent of respondents to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week said the mills were open to […]
Mill lead times saw a small uptick following the mill price increases announced in late June and July, but have since reverted back to relatively short levels. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level. The shorter the lead time, the less busy the mills, and the more likely […]
A potential strike by janitorial workers at General Motors may cause disruption at five GM plants, if autoworkers don’t strike first. The United Auto Workers is ending a contract extension on Saturday, Sept. 14, with janitorial services company Aramark, which coincides with the expiration of auto worker contracts with GM, Ford and FCA. Should a […]
John Packard is on vacation… Have the mills lost their pricing momentum on flat rolled? It sure looks that way, based on the latest Steel Market Update data. About 38 percent of the OEM and service center executives responding to SMU’s market trends questionnaire this week report that the mills have lost their momentum and […]
Planning activity for nonresidential construction declined in August, according to the latest report issued by Dodge Data & Analytics. The Dodge Momentum Index slid 1.3 percent to 127.8 last month primarily due to a 16.6 percent decline in the institutional component that offset a 9.1 percent gain in the commercial component. The index is a […]
I am technically on vacation this week so my Final Thoughts will be brief, and I will rely on Senior Editor Tim Triplett to handle these duties for the balance of this week. I have heard from a number of buyers this week telling me that their business is slowing, and the interest by end […]
Employment gains fell short of expectations in August with only 130,000 new nonfarm jobs reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. Construction employment accounted for 14,000 jobs last month and 177,000 in the past 12 months, according to the latest analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Ken Simonson, the association’s chief […]
July heating and cooling equipment shipments came in at 1.81 million units for the month, up 0.4 percent over the same month one year ago, according to data recently released by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). This is the first month that total monthly equipment shipments have increased on a year-over-year basis since […]
Steel Market Update will produce our Service Center Inventories and Shipments “Flash Report” on flat rolled and plate steels for data providers on Monday, Sept. 9. Also on Monday, we will begin our early September flat rolled and plate steel market trends analysis. On Friday, we will provide data providers with a link to a […]
Steel Market Update is making adjustments to our Price Momentum Indicators on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels. The pressure behind rising steel prices seems to be subsiding as lead times at most mills are reasonable (especially considering the maintenance schedules in place for September and October). Steel buyers are beginning to tell […]
August U.S. auto sales, minus the non-reporting Detroit Big 3, grew 12.2 percent from a year ago. Sales were strong for Asian manufacturers with most reporting double digit gains. Honda led the sales increase in August posting an 18 percent gain year-over-year. Nissan was next at 13 percent, followed by Hyundai at 12 percent and […]