The January Dodge Momentum Index gained 3.9 percent to register at 142.6 from a revised reading of 137.3 in December. The index is a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential buildings in planning and leads nonresidential construction spending for buildings by a full year. The index is considered an indicator of future construction […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive for the twelfth consecutive week, following a long 17 week negative streak. MoMo is a trailing indicator and shows the relationship between the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the previous 12-week average price as […]
The Nucor Louisiana DRI plant is down for 4-5 weeks according to information just received by SMU from Nucor spokesperson Katherine Miller. Here is what she told us: “We recently had an equipment failure that has temporarily stopped production at our Louisiana DRI plant. Due to the nature of the DRI process and the cooling […]
Over the next few weeks we will begin rolling out our program and our speakers for this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. I am very excited as the program is coming together very well and I believe this will be our best conference to date. We have taken the suggestions received last year as well […]
Last week Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted our early February flat rolled steel market trends analysis which is just a long way of saying our survey. Our analysis began on Monday and ended on Thursday afternoon. We covered a large number of topics with manufacturing companies, service centers, steel trading companies, steel mills and suppliers […]
Construction employment was at its highest level since 2008 in January, according to data analyzed by the Associated General Contractors of America. The total could be much higher if there were more skilled workers available to hire, said AGC chief economist Ken Simonson. The press release from AGC follows: Construction employment increased by 36,000 jobs […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. This will explain the difference between our view of the present situation which is subjective and our analysis of trends which is based on the latest facts available. Looking back from the […]
December data for Construction Put in Place (CPIP) was released by the Department of Commerce on Wednesday February 1st 2017. We reported last month that $305 billion infrastructure to the bill that Congress passed in December 2015 might be beginning to kick in and this perception was strengthened in the December data. At SMU we […]
Service center flat rolled steel inventories grew in December based on our Service Center Inventories Apparent Excess/Deficit model. November shipments totaled 2,011,000 tons, inventories of flat rolled were 4,446,000 tons (MSCI numbers) and the Apparent Excess as of the end of November 2016 was 1,000 tons. Service centers were, according to the SMU model, in […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive for the twelfth consecutive week, following a 17 week long negative streak. MoMo is a trailing indicator and shows the relationship between the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the previous 12-week average price […]
It is Super Bowl Sunday so I am going to keep this as short as possible. Everyone needs to remember that I lived in Atlanta for 34 years, having just moved permanently to Florida a little more than a year ago. Let’s hope for a good game and great commercials… Go Falcons! As you know […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has been struggling to get a clear view of the current market situation as we attempt to identify which direction we see flat rolled steel prices going from here. We have been receiving mixed messages over the past two weeks and we have been advising our readers to remain vigilant and […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel are feeling good about the industry based on the results of the just completed flat rolled steel market trends analysis released by Steel Market Update (SMU). The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index set another record high beating the high mark achieved just two weeks ago (an explanation of […]
Flat rolled lead times at the domestic steel mills were essentially flat to slightly shorter based on the respondents to the Steel Market Update (SMU) flat rolled market trends survey completed earlier today. Steel buyers are quick to react to shorter lead times by requesting spot price reductions in their negotiations with the steel mill […]
Average flat rolled lead times (the amount of time it takes a steel mill to produce a new order placed today) have begun to shrink which is causing steel mills to be more receptive to negotiating flat rolled spot steel prices based on those responding to this week’s flat rolled steel market trends analysis survey. […]
U.S. auto sales slipped in January as predicted but still had a strong showing at 1.14 million vehicles when compared to the year ago total of 1.16 million. WardsAuto puts the seasonally adjusted annual rate at 17.46 million, the highest January rate since 2006. Used cars are expected to flood the market this year as […]
I debated about just changing our Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral just on hot rolled and cold rolled and leaving galvanized at Higher. The pricing pressure on coated products spot negotiations does not appear to be necessary when looking at the lead times. The question then becomes are the lead times perhaps a bit “padded,” […]
Home prices reached an all-time high in November, according to the latest results from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices. The U.S. National Home Price NSA Index reported a 5.6 percent annual gain in November. Seattle, Portland and Denver had the highest gains in the 20-City Composite in November, gaining 10.4 percent, 10.1 percent and 8.7 percent, […]
Today I attended the Port of Tampa Steel Conference. This is a 28th conference put on by the Port of Tampa and I have been to about 8-10 of them. I have found them to be a good place to learn more about key subjects affecting the trading company and import communities of which the […]
Please be advised that I will be traveling to Tampa, Florida and will be at the Port of Tampa Steel Conference on Monday and Tuesday of this week. I will return to my office on Wednesday. For those of you who have not been to a steel conference, the Port of Tampa is a good […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive for the eleventh consecutive week, following a 17 week long negative streak. MoMo is a trailing indicator and shows the relationship between the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the previous 12-week average price […]
Existing home sales softened after an exceptional year, decreasing 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.49 million in December from an upwardly revised 5.65 million in November. The National Association of Realtors called 2016 the best year for existing home sales in a decade. Sales for the year totaled 5.45 million, surpassing […]
New residential sales of single-family homes fell 10.4 percent from November’s revised rate of 598,000 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 536,000 in December. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reports year-over-year sales were down 0.4 percent. The drop in December was much sharper than expected by economists. […]
I want to take a moment to thank all of the attendees who attended our Steel 101 workshop in Huntsville, Alabama. We had a great two days and the Nucor team at Decatur did a great job hosting our mill tour on Tuesday of this week. Thank you again to Nucor for supporting our educational […]
SMU Price Momentum Indicator has been pointing to Higher flat rolled steel prices since late October (12 weeks). Based on our analysis of last week’s steel market trends survey as well as direct contact with buyers today, SMU Price Momentum has not changed and our expectation is for prices to move higher over the next […]
The Associated Steel Distributors regional meeting in Detroit on January 19 very appropriately focused on the automotive industry. The meeting was held during the last weekend of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit where a vast array of technological innovation was showcased through virtual reality, simulators and presentation of current models and concept […]
Total light vehicle (LV) auto production in NAFTA in December was at an annual rate, of 15.171 million units, down from 17.921 million in November. In cases where seasonality is more than a weather effect, we like to compare the monthly result with the monthly norm over a number of years. On average since 2004, […]
SMU sources advised that US Steel Great Lakes had a furnace issue due to a leaking water line and a weld gas explosion. They were down for about a shift and are now back up and working for the time being. I wrote the Price Momentum article this evening to make sure that there was […]
The Final Thoughts section is the area where I get to provide my opinions about what I am seeing and sensing in the market. I have been debating over the weekend whether or not now is the time to adjust our Price Momentum Indicator from Higher to Neutral. A Neutral reading would mean prices are […]
The steel industry does not seem to be concerned about the transition of power as Donald Trump becomes the 45th President of the United States. There have been a number of cabinet appointees who have testified about the domestic steel industry and the need to “level the playing field” by taking governments, such as China, […]