According to Baker Hughes data from May 1st, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 905 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. The last time the active U.S. count was this low was back on June 19, 2009 at 899 rigs. This week’s total rig count is down 27 rigs […]
Steel Market Update spent time over the past few days speaking with trading companies and customers who buy foreign steel to see if the flow of orders has subsided or remains in place. We were especially interested in cold rolled and coated products (galvanized and Galvalume in particular) since so much has been made about […]
New home sales fell 11.4 percent in March for the biggest decline since July 2013. The seasonally adjusted annual rate was 481,000 below the forecast of 515,000. Analysts, however, say the drop is not as worrisome as it looks, coming off a strong revised February sales pace of 543,000 from a previously reported 539,000. Home […]
March vehicle sales brought welcome new by bouncing back vigorously to 17.15 million units on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, up from 16.23 million units in February. The March 2015 sales pace was 4 percent higher than the March 2014 pace. Cars had the greatest growth from 7.2 million units in February to 7.7 in […]
According to Baker Hughes data from April 17th, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 954 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. The last time the active U.S. count was this low was back on July 31, 2009 at 948 rigs. This week’s total rig count is down 34 rigs […]
The 2015 Ford F-150 pickup passed its crash test safety rating with flying colors. The aluminum bodied pickup received a five out of five star rating—one star higher than its traditional steel model—from the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration. The Ford achievement is critical to ease consumer minds’ on the safety of aluminum. However, the […]
Starts in March rose by 14,000 to 926,000 after the revised decline of 164,000 in February. This data is seasonally adjusted by the Census department and the monthly numbers are annualized. The three month moving average, (3MMA) declined from 1,020,000 in February to 969,000 in March (Figure 1). The projection to 1.6 million in 2018 […]
According to Baker Hughes data from April 2nd, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 988 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. The last time the active U.S. count was this low was back in late-August 2009 at 968 rigs. This week’s total rig count is down 40 rigs when […]
Below is the latest data issued by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through February 2015. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for February 2015 increased 5.4 percent, […]
The Dodge Momentum Index, an initial report for nonresidential building projects in planning, slid 2.1 percent to 122.3 in March. The initial reports for project planning lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year. In general, the trend has been upward for the past 12 months. The index has gained 12 percent in the first […]
According to Baker Hughes data from April 2nd, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 1,028 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. The rig count is down 20 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 11 to 802 rigs, gas rigs down 11 to 222 rigs, and […]
The final sales tally for US automakers in March was 1,537,820 units according to WardsAuto data, just above the forecast of 1.52 million and exceeding 1.252 million units in February. The increase pushed the SAAR for 2015 to 17.05 million. Fiat Chrysler sales rose in March but Ford and General Motors failed to surpass year […]
The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices for January showed home price growth slowing from year ago levels. The National Home Price Index registered a 4.5 percent annual gain for the 12 months ending in January 2015 as compared to a 10.5 percent increase in January 2014. Month over month gains for the 10- and 20-city indexes […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. February data was released on April 1st. Construction Put in Place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for a given month from a sample of projects. In effect […]
According to Baker Hughes data from March 27th, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 1,048 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. The rig count is down 21 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 12 to 813 rigs, gas rigs down 9 to 233 rigs, and […]
On a seasonally adjusted annual rate, light vehicle sales weakened in February to 16.2 million units, down from 16.7 million units in January but still up by 5.2 percent from February last year. The probable cause was inclement weather at the end of the month. Analysts had been expecting sales at a 16.7 million annual […]
Sales rose for both existing and new homes in February. However, buyers are facing availability issues and escalating pricing. The National Association of Realtors reported existing home sales increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million in February from 4.82 million in January. Sales were 4.7 percent higher than a year ago. Tight […]
According to Baker Hughes data from March 20th, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 1,069 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. The rig count is down 56 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 41 to 825 rigs, gas rigs down 15 to 242 rigs, and […]
Continued increases in construction employment are at risk if Congress does not address infrastructure funding, says the Associated General Contractors of America. Increased regulation is also “adding costly new paperwork and reporting requirements for employers” without addressing problems. The report by AGC is reprinted below: Construction firms added jobs in 43 states and the District […]
Housing starts in February declined by 184,000 annualized to 897,000 from 1,081,000 in January. This data is seasonally adjusted by the Census department. The three month moving average, (3MMA) fared much better declining to 1,020,000 from 1,059,000 which was a blip in a steadily improving trajectory, (Figure 1). This was the sixth consecutive month that […]
Below is the latest data issued by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through December 2014. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for January 2015 increased 11.2 percent, […]
The Dodge Momentum Index rose 4.3 percent to 126.3 in February from 121.1 in January, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. The index has shown volatility over the last three months, up in December down in January and up again in February. On a year over year basis the index is up 17 percent indicating […]
According to Baker Hughes data from March 6th, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 1,192 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. The rig count is down 75 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 64 to 922 rigs, gas rigs down 12 to 268 rigs, and […]
The following article is normally produced just for our Premium level members. We are sharing the information today with all of our readers. The article is written by Peter Wright, consultant to Steel Market Update, Gerdau and the State of Wyoming. Peter, who is a metallurgist as well as market specialist, is also one of […]
U.S. automotive sales slid during frigid February. Sales were once again led by truck and SUV sales but total sales were less than anticipated. Sales were expected to be eight to nine percent higher than a year ago for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.6 million to 16.7 million. As results came in on […]
According to Baker Hughes data from February 27th, 2015, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,267 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. The count is down 43 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 33 to 986 rigs, gas rigs down 9 to 280 rigs, and miscellaneous […]
Sales of new residential single-family homes declined just 0.2 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales were 0.2 percent below December’s revised rate but 5.3 percent higher than January 2014. The annual sales rate was […]
The vehicle sales year had a good start in January with 16.7 million units on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis. Light trucks are benefiting from lower gas prices and reached 55 percent of light vehicle sales, the highest since 2014. This is good for the US assembly plants because the US light truck production is […]
Sales of existing homes fell to their lowest rate in nine months in January. Sales dropped 4.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.82 million according to the National Association of Realtors. The sales decline was widespread, affecting all regions in the U.S. “January housing data can be volatile because of seasonal influences, […]
Home prices increased slightly in December according to data from the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, climbing 4.6 percent year over year in the National Home Price Index. The increase was slightly less than November’s pace of 4.7 percent. On a monthly basis, both the 10- and 20-City Composites reported increases of 0.1 percent in December. […]