Category: US

The Index had briefly showed expansion in March, but has indicated a contracting manufacturing sector for 17 of the last 18 months.

The Chicago Business Barometer slipped further in April, now at the lowest measure recorded since November 2022.

An important economic indicator for the nonresidential construction industry declined in March to its lowest point in more than three years.

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices both rose this week to reach some of the highest levels seen this year.

Hot-rolled coil and plate lead times contracted this week, with most other products remaining flat, according to SMU's most recent survey data. Cold-rolled products, however, saw lead times extend 0.1 weeks to an average of 7.5 weeks vs. two weeks earlier. Hot rolled and plate lead times both contracted 0.3 weeks from our last market check.

Week-over-week trading activity in US steel derivatives markets was relatively muted, with prices maintaining their downward direction since the beginning of the month. Bids have materialized at the lower end of this range in the May, as the nearby backwardation continues to roll on - just as we saw with April being a premium over May.

Sheet steel buyers said mills are more willing to talk price on spot orders, according to our most recent survey data.

It has been a crazy 2024 so far for hot-rolled coil (HRC) futures!!! 

While general economic conditions across the US improved slightly over the last six weeks, activity in the manufacturing sector was weak, according to the Fed’s latest Beige Book report.

A lot of economists were predicting a recession last year. Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), wasn’t one of them.

Following a strong February, US housing starts eased through March to a seven-month low, according to the most recent data from the US Census Bureau.

New York state saw a continued decline in manufacturing activity in April, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices both rose this week.

The market appears to be taking a pause after the heavy buying that occurred in March.

Steel buyers said mills are more willing to talk price on spot orders on all the products SMU covers, according to our most recent survey data.

Global steel demand will reach roughly 1.793 million metric tons (1.976 million short tons) this year, an increase of 1.7% over 2023, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) said in its updated Short Range Outlook report. The gain will come after a 0.5% contraction in steel demand in 2023. Demand is forecasted to increase another 1.2% […]

The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) fell again in March, marking one of the lowest index readings of the past two years according to Dodge Construction Network data released Friday.

It has been six weeks since Flack Global Metals wrote our last SMU column, and if you simply look at the futures curve from then (blue) until now (white), you could argue that very little has changed.

Jack Marshall, a beloved member of the Crunch Risk team, has decided to retire. Jack started his career on the CME floor in 1983, working as a clerk. He then became part of the Chicago origination/trading team in forex at Bank of America, where he worked for 23 years.

US construction spending in February was mostly steady from January but showed significant gains from last year.

Following 16 months of contraction, US manufacturing activity expanded in March according to the latest report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

The Chicago Business Barometer slipped to a 10-month low in March, according to Market News International (MNI) and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The March Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) reading eased 2.6 points to 41.4, marking the fourth consecutive month it has been in contracting territory.

After stabilizing in our last check of the market, production times for flat-rolled steel have begun to push out further, according to steel buyers responding to SMU's market survey this week.

Steel buyers report that mills are less willing to talk price on new sheet orders than they were in weeks past, according to our most recent survey data. In contrast, mills’ willingness to negotiate on plate products remains relatively high, now at the second-highest rate of the year.

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index fell further week, now at the lowest reading recorded since October 2022

2024 started with a $200 per short ton (st), one-week demon drop in the CME Midwest hot-rolled (HR) coil futures. Then, HR futures consolidated in the low $800s/st with the April future trading to as low as $770/st as the curve shifted into contango or upward sloping. A big move was expected, and a big […]

The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) indicated architecture firm billings continue to decline through February, according to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek. While the latest reading does not indicate improving business conditions, it is one of the higher measures seen in recent months, suggesting the recent slowdown may be diminishing.

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index edged down while the Future Sentiment Index ticked up, according to our most recent survey data

New York state manufacturing activity slipped deeper into negative territory this month, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Steel buyers found mills more willing to negotiate spot pricing on the products SMU tracks with the exception of hot rolled, according to our most recent survey data.