Category: US

The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) moved lower in August, driven by a slowdown in planning from tighter lending standards, according to the latest data from the Dodge Construction Network (DCN).

Activity in the US manufacturing sector continues to slow, according to the latest monthly report on business from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

The Chicago Business Barometer edged up in August. This is the third consecutive monthly increase according to the latest indicators from Market News International (MNI) and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

SMU's Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices both edged down this week, based on our most recent survey data.

Construction jobs may have increased year over year in July, but many positions remain unfilled.

Although some construction companies have a backlog, many jobs are getting put on hold, according to members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council.

United Auto Workers (UAW) at battery cell maker Ultium Cells in Lordstown, Ohio, ratified an interim labor agreement over the weekend.

In a Steel Summit fireside chat, Karla Lewis, president and CEO of service center group Reliance Steel & Aluminum, sat down with SMU managing editor Michael Cowden to talk about current demand trends and where she’s leading her company.

Over the first three months since Flack started contributing a futures column to SMU, the first sentence has started with some version of “What a month!”

After four months of increases, orders for durable goods in the US dropped in July.

Will there be a recession in 2023? Steel Summit keynote speaker Gene Marks weighed in on what he thinks about the possibility of a recession.

July was a stable month for business at architectural firms, according to the month's Architecture Billings Index (ABI) reading from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek .

Reshoring or nearshoring in manufacturing is real and happening now. And that trend is driving steel consumption, executives from steelmaker Ternium and service center group Reliance Steel & Aluminum said at SMU’s Steel Summit this week in Atlanta.

To kick off the official sessions of the 2023 Steel Summit, Dr. Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of the Sage Policy Group, focused on the broader context in which steel prices are set, outlining major factors currently shaping economic outcomes in our country.

Mexico has decided to implement import tariffs on a number of products, among them, steel.

As mortgage rates continue to rise and housing demand slows, builder confidence is waning. A drop in July housing starts was the first in seven months.

Economic activity in the US manufacturing sector contracted for the ninth month in a row in July, according to the latest report on business from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

US Midwest premium has continued to trend lower. Slack end-use demand is the main driver as the CME backwardation holds for dates further out in 2023. Lower freight and weak LME prices lower the replacement costs of aluminum and thus lower the floor for the premium.

The summer cycle has brought more focus around the uncertainty of where HR prices are headed.   Spot indexes continue to bleed lower despite price hikes from sheet mills. Market talk is of still lower prices as the gap grows between the slow-moving index versus expectations for HR future prices declines. (The index likely reflects smaller, […]

Most metal formers predict business conditions will remain stable over the next three months, according to the July 2023 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. PMA’s July report said that 55% of the metal-forming companies the association surveyed expect no change in general economic activity in the next three months vs. 58% in June. Thirty-four […]

The US HRC Futures market has been on a roller-coaster ride since our last update (green). In early July, the front month futures contracts surged significantly as news of Steel Dynamics Inc.’s (SDI’s) Sinton, Texas, mill outage trickled through the market (blue).

The US HRC Futures market has been on a roller coaster ride since our last update (green). In early July, the front month futures contracts surged significantly as news of Steel Dynamics Inc.’s (SDI’s) Sinton, Texas, mill outage trickled through the market (blue). However, the futures quickly reversed course and experienced a sharp decline, following […]

Global steel production slipped modestly in June as output declined in the world ex-China, according to the latest figures from the World Steel Association (worldsteel). Globally, an estimated 158.8 million metric tons of crude steel was produced in June, worldsteel said. This was a 1.7% decline from the month prior, and comparable to the 158.1 […]

Lock Joint Tube will supply steel tubing to solar energy company Array Technologies from a new mill in Texas. The two companies entered into an agreement for Albuquerque, N.M.-based Array to secure structural-grade steel tubing from Lock Joint, which is based in South Bend, Ind., Array said in a statement on Thursday. The new mill […]

In the past two months, the US Midwest Hot Rolled Coil (HRC) futures market has experienced significant fluctuations. The initial decline in prices led to destocking and low inventory levels. However, recent price increase announcements by mills halted the downward trend and even reversed it temporarily. The futures curve reflected short-term optimism but indicated that the […]

In the past two months, the US Midwest Hot Rolled Coil (HRC) futures market has experienced significant fluctuations. The initial decline in prices led to destocking and low inventory levels. However, recent price increase announcements by mills halted the downward trend and even reversed it temporarily.

Business activity at architectural firms was stable in June vs. May, though billings were still increasing, according to the American Institute of Architects (AIA)/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score. May’s rebound of 51.0, the highest reading since February, was slightly than June’s 50.1 index. Both readings are an improvement over April’s index of 48.5, and it’s […]

 The US Federal Reserve said that overall economic activity has inched up since May in its latest Beige Book Report released on July 12. The Beige Book is a compilation of information on current economic conditions, gathered by each district Federal Reserve Bank, and is published eight times per year. The newest report by the Fed on the state […]

Manufacturing activity in New York state has stayed relatively level in July compared with the previous month, according to the most recent Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline manufacturing general business conditions fell six points to 1.1 in July month-on-month, according to survey results collected between July 3 and July 11 by the Federal Reserve Bank […]

Steel prices continued to erode in June, a trend that began halfway through April. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices ended June at $875 per ton (43.75 per cwt) on average, falling by $115 per ton throughout the month. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for sheet products remained shifted to Neutral halfway through June, after turning Lower […]