Each month the Commerce Department issues its construction put in place (CPIP) data on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. March data was released on May 1st. Total Construction March expenditures were $69.142 billion which breaks down to $51.210 B of private work, $16.064 B state and locally financed and $1.868 B […]
According to Baker Hughes data from May 2nd, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,854 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is a decrease of 7 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 7 to 1,527 rigs, gas rigs unchanged at 323 rigs, and […]
Will 2014 be a breakthrough year for construction? That was the premise of a webinar presented by Reed Construction Data paneled by Bernie Markstein, US chief economist at Reed Construction Data; Kermit Baker, chief economist at the American Institute of Architects (AIA); and Ken Simonson, chief economist at Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The […]
From the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC): Total construction spending remained in a holding pattern in March as strong gains in apartment construction and modest growth in home building and private nonresidential activity offset falling public outlays, according to an analysis of new Census Bureau data by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). […]
Automotive sales were encouraging in April, with most auto manufacturers posting positive gains year over year. WardsAuto reports sales totaled 1.37 million units compared to 1.18 million in April 2013. Sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 16.0 million for the second consecutive month. Consumers demand is supported by low interest rates and […]
“It’s an understatement to say that the first quarter was challenging for General Motors,” said CEO Mary Barra in GM’s first quarter conference call. So far, Barra says the negative publicity surrounding the ongoing investigation into the recall of 7 million vehicles with faulty ignition switches has not had any meaningful affect on sales. GM […]
According to Baker Hughes data from April 25th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,861 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 30 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 24 to 1,534 rigs, gas rigs up 7 to 323 rigs, […]
Caterpillar reported that, excluding restructuring costs, earnings were flat in first quarter compared to first quarter 2013. Sales and revenues totaled $13.241 billion. North American sales for Machinery, Energy & Transportation were up 16 percent year over year to $5,219 million in the first quarter of 2014. Construction industry sales were up 36 percent to […]
Sales of new residential homes and sales of existing homes were both released this week. Sales of new single family homes continued to soften reaching the lowest level in eight months. March sales came to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, down 14.5 percent from the revised February rate of 449,000 and 13.3 […]
Light vehicle sales in the US rebounded strongly in March as the weather improved in the North and automakers increased incentives to reduce excess inventory. Light vehicles are cars and light trucks (GVW Classes 1-3, under 14,001 lbs.). The sales rate increased to 16.4 million units from 15.4 million units in February. The increase in […]
This month (April 2014) the EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) released its report on petroleum reserves for 2012. Proved reserves are estimated volumes of hydrocarbon resources that analysis of geologic and engineering data demonstrates with reasonable certainty are recoverable under existing economic and operating conditions. Reserves estimates change from year to year as new discoveries […]
Will 2014 be a breakthrough year for construction? That was the premise of a webinar presented by Reed Construction Data paneled by Bernie Markstein, US chief economist at Reed Construction Data; Kermit Baker, chief economist at the American Institute of Architects (AIA); and Ken Simonson, chief economist at Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The […]
According to Baker Hughes data from April 17th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,831 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is unchanged when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 7 to 1,510 rigs, gas rigs up 6 to 316 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs up […]
We were somewhat in disbelief when we analyzed the March housing data this week but on checking the formulas in our spread sheets it appears that our first impression was correct. Table 1 shows building permits and housing starts data for Q1 2014 compared to Q1 2013. Total construction starts were down by 3.6 percent […]
According to Baker Hughes data from April 11th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,831 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 13 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 19 to 1,517 rigs, gas rigs down 6 to 310 rigs, […]
Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld is expecting great things for aluminum—“The opportunity in auto is tremendous,” he said in Alcoa’s first quarter conference call. Kleinfeld said he expects aluminum automotive sheet demand to top 1 million metric tons by 2025. “We believe that the aluminum content in cars is going to quadruple very, very soon, basically […]
Building permits authorizations for construction of single and multi-family dwellings in Canada fell 23.8 percent in February and 0.6 percent year over year, according to data by Statistics Canada. Total permits were 14,011 units compared with 18,398 in January and 15,650 in December. Multi-family authorizations fell sharply during the month to 8,289 units, plummeting 29.3 […]
The Senate Finance Committee passed a bill on Thursday that would restore key tax credits for the wind industry. The renewable energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit were included in the Committee’s final tax extender package after the PTC was passed over in the first draft. Sen. Michael Bennett (D-Colo.) sponsored the […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its construction put in place (CPIP) data on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. February data was released on April 1st. Total Construction: February expenditures were $63.369 billion which breaks down to $46.647 B of private work, $14.945 B state and locally financed and $1.777 B […]
Steel producers and distributors can expect an influx of orders for steel plate for rail tank cars in the next several years. After several serious tanker accidents involving crude oil transport, the Association of American Railroads Tank Car Committee (AARTCC) and Railway Supply Institute Committee on Tank Cars (RSICTC) have each submitted higher safety standard […]
According to Baker Hughes data from April 4th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,818 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 9 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 11 to 1,498 rigs, gas rigs down 2 to 316 rigs, […]
US automotive sales reached 1.53 million units in March besting estimates by WardsAuto who pegged sales at 1.48 million units. Projected sales for the year rose to 16.38 million. Lingering winter weather kept consumers away from dealerships early in the month but sales picked up in the latter half to finish strong. GM CEO Mary […]
According to Baker Hughes data from March 28th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,809 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 6 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 14 to 1,487 rigs, gas rigs down 8 to 318 rigs, […]
Sales of new single-family homes dropped in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000 according to estimates by the Commerce Department. Sales were 3.3 percent below the revised January rate of 455,000 and 1.1 percent below the February 2013 estimate of 445,000. Sales on a three month moving average were 445,000, up slightly […]
SMU’s John Temples attended the Platts Steel Market’s North America Conference this week. Panelist focused on market forecast, natural gas, service center operations, and a healthy dose of business promotion. One discussion of interest was on the recovery and outlook of the construction sector. Throughout the conference, many people were optimistic about the non-residential construction […]
According to Baker Hughes data from March 21st, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,803 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is a decrease of 6 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 12 to 1,473 rigs, gas rigs down 18 to 326 rigs, […]
Light vehicle sales in both January and February were depressed by the unusually bad weather in the North. This applied to both retail and fleet sales. The annualized sales total of autos + light trucks in February was 15.4 million units. Sales are expected to rebound to greater than a 16 million unit annual rate […]
Existing home sales were quiet in February, declining a scant 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.60 million in February from 4.62 million in January, reported the National Association of Realtors. Year-over-year sales fell 7.1 percent from the same period in 2013. The February pace was at its lowest rate since July […]
In February total building permits exceeded total starts by 38,000 units which would seem at first glance to be a good sign. However digging down into the data reveals a much more complex situation in this market. The two sub sectors, single and multi-family units are behaving differently. Single family permits were 12,000 less than […]
The confidence level for home builders rose by one point to 47 in the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for March. Builders are concerned about meeting demand due to a shortage of buildable lots and difficulty in finding skilled workers. Of additional concern, said said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe, are […]