US light vehicle sales fell to 1.25 million units in April, down 18.2% year on year (YoY). The annualized selling rate rose to 14.29 million units from 13.41 million units, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. Interest rates are rising. But what’s holding sales back is supply rather than demand, disrupting normal seasonality. The […]
US consumer confidence edged lower in May as Americans’ view of their present and future prospects dimmed in the midst of persistent inflation, The Conference Board reported. Confidence could stumble further as stubborn inflation may be around for a bit. Inflation soared over the past year at its fastest pace in more than 40 years. […]
World crude steel production rose in April, gaining ground for a second consecutive month and reaching a 10-month high. Global output was estimated at 162.7 million metric tons in April. Steelmakers around the world increased production by just 1.6 million metric tons, or 1% from March, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel) data. Although April’s crude […]
SSAB AB has named Leena Craelius as chief financial officer. Craelius had held the position of acting CFO since Nov. 1, 2021, succeeding Håkan Folin, who joined mining and infrastructure equipment make Epiroc. Craelius will take up her new position immediately and will be based in Stockholm, the Swedish steelmaker said in a press release […]
Test Module 1 for both exec and Premium Raw steel production by US mills grew last week, expanding for the fourth straight week, and reaching the second-highest utilization mark year-to-date. Domestic output totaled 1,798,000 net tons in the week ending May 28, while mill capacity utilization was 82.4%, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. […]
SSAB and Alfa Laval have partnered to develop a heat exchanger engineered with fossil-free steel, the first of its kind. The goal is to roll out the first unit made with hydrogen-reduced steel by 2023, SSAB said. “We’re proud to welcome Alfa Laval as a partner and look forward to jointly exploring ways forward to […]
Commercial Steel Products LLC (CSP) has acquired Ace Steel Supply Inc. (Ace) in a stock purchase agreement. The deal between the two steel service centers represents an alignment of mutual strategic interests, CSP said. Dallas-based CSP is a supplier of steel products, including tubular, flat-rolled, and structural steel. Its acquisition of Houston-based Ace will enhance […]
Mill executives said they are ready for the demand infrastructure spending would generate during AISTech 2022’s Town Hall Forum in Pittsburgh this week. “The infrastructure bill is positive for the entire industry and for downstream industries, but we need to cut red tape,” Cleveland-Cliffs chairman, president and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said. “The bill is great. […]
Builder confidence took a major tumble in May as rising interest rates impacted affordability, signaling a slowdown in the housing market. According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), double-digit price increases for materials and ongoing home price appreciation are taking a toll on demand. Homebuilder sentiment fell for the […]
Strict and strictly enforced trade laws are key to backing the steel industry’s investments in decarbonization. That was the takeaway from a press conference on Tuesday, May 17, at the AISTech 2022 conference in Pittsburgh. Executives from Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), Commercial Metals Co. (CMC), the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), and the American Iron and […]
Business activity in the state of New York sank in May, a startling result following a strong turnaround in the headline index 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 – is now […]
Raw steel production by US mills increased last week, reaching the highest utilization mark in 16 weeks. Domestic output totaled 1,785,000 net tons in the week ending May 14, while mill capacity utilization was 81.8%, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported. US output was up 0.5% versus the week prior but 2.7% below […]
North American auto assemblies shrank by 15.8% in April, falling for the first time in 2022 as ongoing supply hurdles mount. Despite the recent decline, North American production has improved since bottoming out last December. April’s results are just 4.6% higher year-on-year (YoY), and still 14.4% below the pre-pandemic period of April 2019. North American […]
Nucor Corp. has agreed in principle to acquire C.H.I. Overhead Doors for $3 billion. C.H.I. is a leading manufacturer of residential and commercial overhead and rolling doors serving US and Canadian markets, and an affiliate of investment funds managed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (KKR). The transaction value represents approximately 13x C.H.I.’s estimated […]
Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyer’s Sentiment Index slipped 2 points last week following three consecutive weeks of steel price declines. Our Future Sentiment Index was unchanged and remains at a new high set just two weeks prior. SMU surveys buyers every two weeks and asks how they view their chances of success in the near […]
Toyota North America has slashed its May production by roughly 30,000 vehicles, with more reductions in June still possible because of ongoing global microchip and parts shortages, a company spokesperson said. The move was just one of a string of production cuts among North American automakers. “Toyota’s North American plants continue to face intermittent production delays […]
The prices contractors pay for construction materials and services – chiefly for new nonresidential construction – jumped by more than 21% in April versus the same year-ago period, reports the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) in its latest analysis of government data. The association has called for relief to hard-hit employers from tariffs, especially […]
MaryEmily Slate, Nucor’s executive vice president of commercial, will retire on June 11 due to health-related issues. Dan Needham, Nucor’s executive vice president of bar, engineered bar and rebar fabrication products, has been named to succeed her. The transition is effective May 15, Nucor said. Slate joined Nucor in 2000 as district sales manager of Nucor Steel Arkansas. […]
AZZ Inc. completed the purchase of Precoat Metals from its parent, Sequa Corp., for approximately $1.28 billion. The deal continues the Fort Worth, Texas-based company’s buying spree in the coated metals space. “Today we welcome the 1,100 employees of Precoat to the AZZ family and begin the work of swiftly integrating Precoat into AZZ while leveraging […]
Imports of less expensive sheet and plate products continue to arrive at US ports, and at a faster pace in March. Following lighter volumes in February, overall flat product imports accelerated in March and took a larger share of the domestic steel market, according to Commerce Department data. Imports’ share of US sheet and plate markets […]
Total mill shipments of steel products recovered in March following repeated declines at the start the year. March’s mill shipments totaled 8.342 million tons, a 9% increase from February’s 7.655 million tons. Apparent supply also surged in March, up 12.9% versus the prior month, and expanding for the first time in three months. This analysis is based […]
Stellantis, Chrysler’s European parent company, is the latest domestic carmaker to halt production due to the semiconductor shortage, a spokeswoman told Steel Market Update (SMU). The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker will pause production of some high-demand SUVs the week of May 9. The Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant, which makes the Jeep Cherokee SUV, has seen […]
Swedish steelmaking start-up H2 Green Steel (H2GS) has pre-sold more than 1.5 million tons of hydrogen-based steel in offtake supply agreements, the company confirmed. The agreed volumes are for 2025 production onwards and cover more than 60% of the company’s initially estimated annual production of 2.5 million tons. The multi-year supply contracts range between five […]
Raw steel production by US mills was largely unchanged, with just a marginal increase week-on-week (WoW). Domestic output totaled 1,777,000 net tons in the week ending May 7, while mill capacity utilization was 81.4%, the American Iron and Steel Institute reported. US output was up 0.1% versus the week prior but 3.1% below the same […]
A previously shuttered iron ore concentrate facility on the Mesabi Iron Range might be coming back to life under the newly-formed MagIron LLC. The Plant 4 concentrator near Grand Rapids, Minn., formerly owned by Magnetation and once rescued from bankruptcy by ERP Iron Ore – which subsequently filed for bankruptcy itself – has been acquired by former […]
Construction employment edged up by just 2,000 jobs in April because contractors scrambled to find workers in an increasingly tight labor market, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported. “The pause in employment gains last month most likely signifies a shortage of qualified workers rather than any slowdown in demand for projects,” AGC chief economist […]
The US labor market expanded at a rapid pace in April, adding 428,000 new jobs, matching the downwardly revised 428,000 increase in March. The result kept the unemployment rate unchanged month-on-month (MoM) at the pandemic-era low of 3.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Payroll gains were better than economists had expected amid an increasingly […]
US job growth was strong in April, exceeding early estimates by approximately 7%. Employers added 428,000 in April, matching the downgraded figure for March. The result kept the unemployment rate unchanged at 3.6% – slightly higher than estimates of 3.5%, and just a touch above pre-pandemic levels in 2020, according to the Labor Department. The […]
US construction spending in March totaled $1.730 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, just 0.1% above February’s total. Investment in construction cooled because increased spending on residential projects was offset by a decline in nonresidential investment, the Commerce Department reported. Construction spending in March missed expectations, down from a 0.5% gain in February and behind […]
The Dodge Momentum Index moved 6% higher in April, rebounding following lower revised reading for the month prior, according to data and analytics from the Dodge Construction Network. The index registered 164.8 last month, up from March’s downward revised reading of 155. In April, planning for commercial projects drove the index’s overall reading upward, expanding […]