US manufacturing activity grew in August, expanding for the second straight month amid stronger order growth and employment, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Supply bottlenecks and price pressures eased, while domestic factory activity grew steadily last month. August’s Manufacturing PMI held at 52.8%, the same reading recorded in July. This is the […]
Steel prices eased overall throughout August, following declines seen in the three previous months. Hot rolled prices were $805 per ton ($40.25 per cwt) the first week of August, falling to a low of $770 per ton in the middle of the month, and rising to $785 per ton as of last Tuesday. The SMU […]
SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a Director at Cargill Risk Management, and […]
World crude steel production tumbled in July, down 11.1% versus the same period last year. July’s output was also down 5.6% when compared to June, declining for the second straight month, but just the third time this year, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel) data. Global output was estimated at 149.3 million metric tons in […]
The US economy shrank at a revised -0.6% in the second quarter of 2022, declining for the second straight quarter. Gross domestic production in Q2 contracted at a more moderate pace than initially though, according to the second estimate from the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The result was a slight improvement […]
US consumer confidence grew in August, rebounding more than expected after shrinking for three straight months, The Conference Board reported. Results in August were better than expected, measuring 103.2 points and ahead of the 97.7 estimates. The nice month-on-month (MoM) bump in consumer confidence runs parallel to the lower oil prices and is congruent with […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. Rock provides customers attached to the steel industry with commodity price risk management services and market intelligence. RTA is registered with the National Futures Association as a Commodity Trade Advisor. David has over 20 years of professional trading experience and has been active […]
New orders for US manufactured durable goods stalled in July, at a seasonally adjusted $273.5 billion last month, virtually mirroring the month prior. But a pullback on orders for long-lasting goods in July might reflect a cooling in demand amid other signs of a slowing US economy. Last month’s bookings for durable goods were down […]
Demand for design services from architecture firms in the US continued to grow in July, though the pace of growth continued to decline. The July AIA Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score was down again month-on-month (MoM) but still marked the 18th consecutive month of growth following the pandemic-induced downturn in 2020. The July ABI registered […]
Global crude steel production was estimated at 149.3 million metric tons in July as steelmakers around the world cut back on output by 9.7 million metric tons, or 6.5%, from the same period last year, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) reported. Last month’s estimated production was also down sequentially, shrinking by 5.6%, or 8.8 million […]
Los Angeles-based JFE Shoji America Holdings Inc. is expanding its steel products business in the US with the acquisition of steel framing company California Expanded Metal Products Co. (CEMCO). Headquartered in Industry, Calif., family-owned CEMCO operates four manufacturing and distribution facilities in Industry; Pittsburg, Calif.; Denver, Colo.; and Fort Worth, Texas. It produces more than […]
The following article on the hot-rolled coil (HRC), scrap and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled Weekly changes in the value of spot HR have continued to drop an average of about $30/net ton but it should […]
Producer prices fell in July, stunning a 27-month growth run. Last month the headline index declined by 3.1%, seasonally adjusted, driven by a plunge in energy prices that slowed the pace of inflation, the US Labor Department reported. July’s producer price index (PPI), a measure of the prices received for final-demand products, fell 0.5% from […]
Business activity in the state of New York saw a sharp decline in August, a complete reversal from the modest increase the month prior, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The New York Fed’s Empire State headline general business conditions index—a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state—plummeted by 42.2 points in August to […]
Total mill shipments of steel products shrank in June, after gaining ground the month before. June’s mill shipments totaled 8.09 million tons, a 3.5% decline from May’s 8.38 million tons. Apparent supply also declined in June, down 2.8% versus the prior month. This analysis is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel […]
SMU contributor Bryan Tice is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. He and the firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients. They also provide process and analytical support. Before joining Metal Edge Partners, Bryan held commercial leadership roles involving purchasing, sales, and risk management […]
The S&P Global US manufacturing PMI—another measure of manufacturing—fell to 52.2 in July, its lowest level in two years, as output and new orders decreased last month. July’s results are down slightly from 52.7 in June, as US manufacturers report the toughest business conditions since 2009. (Recall that a reading above 50.0 indicates growth.) The […]
The US labor market added 582,000 jobs in July, a surprising boost in hiring and more than doubling what forecasters had projected. The economy has now regained all jobs lost during the pandemic. The result pushed the unemployment rate down to 3.5%, matching the pre-pandemic low, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The July jobless […]
The US economy added 528,000 new jobs in July despite downbeat expectations, nearly doubling earlier estimates, according to data from the US Department of Labor. Hiring last month was far better than expected, defying multiple other signs that the economic recovery is losing steam. The unemployment rate declined to 3.5%, now back to its pre-pandemic […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. Rock provides customers attached to the steel industry with commodity price risk management services and market intelligence. RTA is registered with the National Futures Association as a Commodity Trade Advisor. David has over 20 years of professional trading experience and has been active […]
UPG Enterprises LLC announced its acquisition of Orchid Monroe LLC, a manufacturer of electrical steel laminations, electric motors and generator cores, and lamination tooling. Wisconsin-based Orchid’s additional capabilities include engineering, prototyping, tool design and building, steel slitting, high speed lamination stamping, and annealing. Jeffrey Dwyer, CEO of UPG, stated, “Today’s announcement is another step in UPG’s […]
US manufacturing activity expanded in July, but at a slightly slower pace compared to the month prior, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Indices for new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries and prices all contracted in the month of July. July’s Manufacturing PMI fell to 52.8%, down 0.2 percentage-points compared to June’s reading. […]
Steel prices continued to fall in each week of July, following declines in May and June. Hot rolled prices were $955 per ton ($49.75 per cwt) the first week of July, slipping between $35 and $45 per ton each week to reach $840 per ton as of last Tuesday. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for […]
New orders for US manufactured durable goods rose unexpectedly in June after a surprising increase the month prior. June’s gain was boosted by a surge in defense aircraft as well as a sustained demand for equipment. Last month’s bookings for durable goods were up 1.9% following a 0.8% gain a month earlier, according to the Commerce Department. […]
The US economy contracted in the second quarter of 2022, declining for the second straight quarter. Some economists consider two consecutive quarters of negative GDP to be the definition of a recession. Gross domestic production in Q2 declined at -0.09% annualized pace, according to advanced estimate from the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis […]
The following article on the hot-rolled coil (HRC), scrap and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled The HR futures market has been somewhat subdued this month, which is reflected in the price changes for July. Over the […]
By CRU Economists Filippos Papasavvas and Veronika Akhmadieva, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook. Contribution from CRU Sr. China Economist Henry Hao. We have further upgraded our US Trade-Weighted Index (TWI) forecast, which we now forecast to average 122.7 in 2022 Q4 from 120.5 previously. The change reflects our more pessimistic outlook for all other major […]
US consumer confidence fell again in July, declining for the third consecutive month, The Conference Board reported. Americans grew even more pessimistic about the US economy over the past 30 days, with the latest survey showing declines in consumer attitudes, intentions and expectations in July. The drop came on the heels of an even larger downward […]
Global crude steel production was estimated at 158.1 million metric tons in June as steelmakers around the world cut back on output by 9.8 million metric tons, or 5.8%, from the same period last year, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) reported. Last month’s estimated production was also down sequentially, shrinking by 6.7%, or 11.4 million […]
World crude steel production tumbled in June, down 5.9% versus the same period last year. Last month’s output was also down 6.7% when compared to May, declining for just the second time this year, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel) data. Global output was estimated at 158.1 million metric tons in June. Steelmakers around the […]