US heating and cooling equipment shipments rose 1% from April to May. They now stand at 2.09 million units according to data from the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Recall that two months prior, in March, we saw the third highest monthly shipment rate in our history at 2.28 million units (behind June […]
Construction employment increased by 13,000 jobs in June while the number of jobseekers with construction experience plunged to a record low for the month, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported. The construction industry would likely have added even more jobs in June had it not been for the shortage of available workers, AGC […]
Rising inflation and higher mortgage rates are slowing traffic of prospective home buyers and putting a damper on builder sentiment. According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), the headline number fell two more points to a level of 67 in June – the lowest HMI reading since June 2020. […]
US construction spending in May totaled $1.780 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, 0.1% below April’s upwardly revised $1.783 trillion. This is the first drop since September 2021. The surprising decline month-on-month (MoM) came as a drop in public spending dragged on stalling single-family homebuilding, the Commerce Department reported. The construction spending decline in […]
New home sales posted a solid gain in May following four months of declines. The increase came despite strong headwinds, including rising mortgage rates and high sales prices. The reason: buyers rushing into the market in advance of the Federal Reserve’s June interest rate hike. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in May increased 10.7% to a […]
Several North American automakers have confirmed planned summer outages for maintenance programs, facility updates, and model-year changeovers to Steel Market Update (SMU). Some outages are starting this month, while others can be seen as late as August, but the bulk of the scheduled downtime will be seen throughout the month of July. Stellantis – Chrysler’s […]
Chrisopher Kristock has been named vice president of the automotive program for the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). His focus will be on keeping steel’s position as the material of choice for the automotive industry. Kristock will also lead AISI’s Automotive Applications Council, which focuses on innovation, education, and technology transfer within the automotive […]
Existing-home sales shrank in May, retreating for the fourth straight month, according to the National Association of Realtors. Three out of the four major US regions saw sales fall month-over-month (MoM) in May while sales in the Northeast climbed 1.5%. Sales were down across each region year-over-year (YoY). May sales fell 3.4% from April to […]
More than three-quarters of US states added construction jobs over the past 12 months ended May 2022, though momentum has slowed with less than half adding jobs month-on-month (MoM) in May, according to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) analysis of federal employment data. AGC said monthly employment gains lagged in May, with just […]
US light vehicle sales fell to 1.11 million units in May, down 11.2% from 1.25 million units in April. LV sales in the US shrank by 29.2% year-on-year (YoY). The annualized selling rate fell to 12.68 million units last month from 14.50 million units in April, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. The […]
North American auto assemblies improved by 5.9% in May, after shrinking by 15.8% the month prior – the first decline all year. And though ongoing supply hurdles continue, North American production has improved since bottoming out last December. May’s results are 14.4% higher year-on-year (YoY), but still 17.5% below the pre-pandemic period of May 2019. […]
Housing starts tumbled in May as the construction sector faces strong headwinds. Rising interest rates, ongoing building material supply chain troubles, and ballooning construction costs further delayed construction projects and raise home building costs. Overall housing starts fell 14.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.55 million units in May from an upwardly revised […]
Caterpillar Inc. is relocating its global headquarters from Deerfield, Ill., to an existing office in Irving, Texas, near Dallas-Fort Worth. The steel-intensive heavy equipment manufacturer has had a presence in Texas since the 1960s. Illinois will continue to have the largest concentration of Caterpillar employees despite the headquarters move. “We believe it’s in the best […]
US heating and cooling equipment shipments fell 9% to 2.07 million units in April, following a 24% jump in March, according to data from the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Recall that March saw the third highest monthly shipment rate in our history at 2.28 million units, with the record high occurring in June […]
US automotive sales in May are expected to drop below previous forecasts and to fall to their slowest pace in 2022, Cox Automotive reported. Declines of roughly 28% in sales year-on-year (YoY) were expected last month, though preliminary results indicate a drop of more than 29%, the automotive agency said. “Auto sales in May are […]
US construction spending in April totaled $1.744 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, just 0.2% above February’s upwardly revised $1.741 trillion. Investment in construction rose less than expected as an increase in private construction was partially offset by declines in public spending, the Commerce Department reported. Construction spending in April missed expectations, easing from a […]
Ford Motor Co. is investing big to increase electrical vehicle production in the Midwest. The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker recently announced $3.7 billion in expenditures to increase manufacturing at plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri. The funding will support more than 6,200 new union jobs, and nearly 3,000 temporary UAW-Ford workers will be converted into permanent full-time […]
The Dodge Momentum Index moved 7% higher in May, gaining ground on the upward revised reading for the month prior, according to data and analytics from the Dodge Construction Network. The index registered 176.2 in May, up from 165.2 the month prior. The index measures data about planned nonresidential building projects to track spending in […]
The number of open construction jobs jumped to a record-high 449,000 unfilled positions in April. This is the highest measure in the history of the data series (going back to late 2000), said the National Association of Home Builders. According to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey data from the Bureau of Labor […]
Construction employment increased by 36,000 jobs in May backed by rapidly rising hourly earnings. And a record number of job openings suggests contractors are seeking to hire even more workers, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported. “It is encouraging that contractors were able to add workers in May, but they will need many more […]
Spending on nonresidential construction projects declined for the second straight month in April because labor shortages suppressed construction activity, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported. “Nonresidential construction spending is being held back by a paucity of qualified workers, not a lack of projects,” AGC chief economist Ken Simonson said. “With job openings at an all-time […]
US light vehicle sales fell to 1.25 million units in April, down 18.2% year on year (YoY). The annualized selling rate rose to 14.29 million units from 13.41 million units, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. Interest rates are rising. But what’s holding sales back is supply rather than demand, disrupting normal seasonality. The […]
Sales of new and existing homes retracted in April, now in line with mid-2020 levels, according to recently released data from the US Department of Commerce and National Association of Realtors. New home sales slipped to 591,000 units in April, down 17% compared to the previous month. The last time new sales were this low […]
Builder confidence took a major tumble in May as rising interest rates impacted affordability, signaling a slowdown in the housing market. According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), double-digit price increases for materials and ongoing home price appreciation are taking a toll on demand. Homebuilder sentiment fell for the […]
US heating and cooling equipment shipments jumped 24% from February to March to 2.28 million units, up 2% from levels one year prior, according to recent data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). This is the third highest monthly shipment rate in our history, with June 2021 holding the record at 2.32 million […]
North American auto assemblies shrank by 15.8% in April, falling for the first time in 2022 as ongoing supply hurdles mount. Despite the recent decline, North American production has improved since bottoming out last December. April’s results are just 4.6% higher year-on-year (YoY), and still 14.4% below the pre-pandemic period of April 2019. North American […]
Toyota North America has slashed its May production by roughly 30,000 vehicles, with more reductions in June still possible because of ongoing global microchip and parts shortages, a company spokesperson said. The move was just one of a string of production cuts among North American automakers. “Toyota’s North American plants continue to face intermittent production delays […]
The prices contractors pay for construction materials and services – chiefly for new nonresidential construction – jumped by more than 21% in April versus the same year-ago period, reports the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) in its latest analysis of government data. The association has called for relief to hard-hit employers from tariffs, especially […]
Stellantis, Chrysler’s European parent company, is the latest domestic carmaker to halt production due to the semiconductor shortage, a spokeswoman told Steel Market Update (SMU). The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker will pause production of some high-demand SUVs the week of May 9. The Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant, which makes the Jeep Cherokee SUV, has seen […]
Swedish steelmaking start-up H2 Green Steel (H2GS) has pre-sold more than 1.5 million tons of hydrogen-based steel in offtake supply agreements, the company confirmed. The agreed volumes are for 2025 production onwards and cover more than 60% of the company’s initially estimated annual production of 2.5 million tons. The multi-year supply contracts range between five […]