Private construction contracted in three months through June, but state and locally funded work, including infrastructure, is continuing to boom. Construction Put in Place (CPIP) expenditures data for June was released on Aug. 1. Through June, total construction has had negative momentum every month since October last year. This was entirely a result of […]
Construction employment continued to grow in June, but could have been stronger if more qualified workers were available for hire, said the Associated General Contractors of America in its latest analysis of federal employment data. “Demand for construction remains robust in most metro areas,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But, with record job […]
Home prices continued to rise in May but at a much slower pace, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price NSA Index. The Index showed an annual gain of 3.4 percent in May, down from 3.5 percent in April. The 20-City Composite price growth slipped to 2.4 percent from 2.5 percent the […]
Sales of new homes rebounded in June after two months of decline, says new data released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. Sales of new single-family homes were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 646,000 last month, a 7.0 percent increase from the revised May number and 4.5 percent higher than a year ago. […]
Sales of existing homes declined 1.7 percent in June after gaining traction in May. Sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.27 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. Compared to May, sales declined in the South (-3.4 percent) and West (-3.5 percent) and improved slightly in the Northeast (+1.5 percent) and […]
United Auto Workers and the Big Three automakers opened 2019 contract talks last week with ceremonial handshakes. Negotiations, however, have the potential to become contentious as auto workers seek a bigger share of company profits. “We invested in you, now it’s your turn to invest in us,” said United Auto Workers President Gary Jones at […]
Construction employment continued to climb in June said the Associated General Contractors of America in its latest analysis of Labor Department data. Construction employment increased in 30 states from May to June while 42 states added jobs between June 2018 and June 2019. Association officials said worker shortage remains a concern for the industry. “Construction […]
Housing starts declined slightly in June as single-family starts failed to offset a decline in multi-family construction. Starts in June dropped just under 1 percent from the revised May rate to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,253,000. Single-family housing starts rose 3.5 percent from May to a SAAR of 847,000, while construction of apartment […]
Heating and cooling equipment shipments were just over two million units in May, down 2.4 percent compared to one year ago, according to data recently released by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). This is the second consecutive month that total monthly equipment shipments have declined on a year-over-year basis since September 2018. Residential […]
Construction employment increased by 224,000 jobs, or 3.2 percent, in the last 12 months and by 21,000 jobs in June, said the Associated General Contractors of America in its latest analysis of government data. Most job creation occurred in the nonresidential construction sector in June and in the past year. Non-residential contractors added 14,900 jobs […]
The Dodge Momentum Index improved in June, rising 4.0 percent to 146.1 from a revised reading of 140.5 in May. The monthly index measures the first report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which has been shown to lead construction spending by a full year. Initiation of planning for institutional building projects jumped 6.1 percent, […]
Steel Market Update is please to share this Premium content with Executive-level subscribers. For more information on upgrading to a Premium-level membership, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Private construction contracted in the three-month period including March, April and May, but state and locally funded work, including infrastructure, continued to boom. The Construction Put in Place (CPIP) expenditures […]
Construction is among the industries suffering the most from a shortage of skilled labor, yet the Trump administration excluded construction from its proposal to expand apprenticeship programs, angering the Associated General Contractors of America. “At a time when the vast majority of construction firms report having a hard time finding qualified workers to hire, it […]
Home price gains continued to weaken in April, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices. The National Home Price NSA index gained 3.5 percent year-over-year compared to 3.7 percent the previous month. The 20-City composite was nearly flat with March, down 0.1 percent to post a 2.5 percent gain. Annual growth has slowed in […]
Sales of new single-family homes in May slipped 7.8 percent from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 626,000. Sales were down 3.7 percent from May 2018, said the latest report from Commerce. The median price for new homes sold last month was $308,000 and the average price $377,200. Inventory, estimated at 333,000 homes […]
Construction employment increased in 31 states and the District of Columbia from April to May, according to an analysis of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America. In the 12 months to May 2019, 39 states and D.C. added construction jobs. “Construction demand remains strong, and contractors increased their workforce in most […]
Existing home sales rebounded in May, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales increased for the first time in two months, jumping 2.5 percent from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.34 million. Sales compared to May 2018 slipped 1.1 percent. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said consumers are eager to take […]
Housing starts dipped slightly in May, inching down 0.9 percent from April’s revised rate to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,269,000. Starts were 4.7 percent below the May 2018 rate. Single-family starts led the decline, falling 6.4 percent from April to a SAAR of 820,000, while housing of five units or more jumped 13.8 […]
Heating and cooling equipment shipments totaled 1.75 million units in April, down 0.1 percent compared to 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 declined on a year-over-year basis since September 2018. Residential and commercial storage […]
Private construction contracted in three months through April, but state and locally funded work, including infrastructure, is booming, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of Commerce Department data The Construction Put in Place (CPIP) expenditures data for April was released on June 3. Through April, total construction has had negative momentum every month this year […]
Orders for metal cutting machines and metalforming and fabricating machines saw their lowest April rate since 2016. The Association for Manufacturing Technology reports manufacturing technology orders totaled $344.6 million in April, a decline of 16.5 percent from March and 17.6 percent year-over-year. For the first four months of this year, orders were down 11.6 percent […]
The Dodge Momentum Index, a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential buildings in planning, slipped 1.4 percent in May to a reading of 141.0 from a revised reading of 142.4 in April. The commercial component of the index dropped 6.9 percent while the institutional component rose 8.1 percent. On a year-over-year basis, the […]
Job growth in two industries vital to the steel industry, manufacturing and construction, showed signs of slowing in May. The U.S. added a total of just 75,000 jobs in May, well below the 180,000 to 185,000 jobs forecast by economists. In addition, the Labor Department revised employment levels downward for March and April. The March […]
Lordstown will not be getting another General Motors vehicle, says CEO Mary Barra. And no, it is not a “PR stunt” by the company. The Ohio manufacturing facility was one of five North American plants included in a global restructuring of the company. During an interview with Reuters in Washington last week, Barra defended plans […]
May turned out to be a good month for several automakers. Fiat Chrysler, Toyota and Nissan all reported year-over-year gains. Fiat Chrysler posted a 2 percent gain in May, its first monthly increase since January, while Toyota jumped 3.2 percent and Nissan 0.1 percent. Automotive News estimates that General Motors sales increased 1.2 percent in […]
Construction employment expanded in 250 of 358 metro areas in the 12 months through April, according to the latest analysis of employment data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Employment declined in 53 areas and was unchanged in 55. Workforce shortage continues to be a problem for the construction industry, said AGC. “Demand for […]
The rate of growth in U.S. home prices continues to slow. The March S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index gained 3.7 percent year-over-year in March, down from 3.9 percent in February and the lowest annual gain since September 2012. The index has been on a 12-month downward trajectory, falling from a 6.5 percent annual […]
Sales of new homes in April slid 6.9 percent from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 673,000, according to the latest data released by the Department of Commerce. Sales were 7.0 percent higher than the April 2018 estimate of 629,000. The decline in sales followed a robust 723,000 sales pace in March and […]
Construction employment continues to increase in April, but the Associated General Contractors of America say that demand would support the hiring of more workers if they were available. AGC urges the government to enact immigration reform that would boost the supply of qualified workers. “Contractors face an ever-increasing challenge to find enough qualified workers to […]
Existing-home sales declined slightly from March to April, slipping 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.19 million. Sales were down 4.4 percent from April 2018, said the National Association of Realtors. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said he is not overly concerned about the dip in sales and expects moderate growth very […]