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 […]
Flack Global Metals (FGM) adds Jennifer Betts as Sr. Vice President of Business Development. Betts will drive FMG’s business and development strategy to expand the company’s physical metals sales growth as well as its broad range of price risk management services offered Flack Metal Bank (FMB). “Jen brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to […]
Nonresidential and multifamily construction spending slumped in March as supply-chain woes and labor shortages stymied strong project demand, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported. Spending on most categories of nonresidential and multifamily construction declined from February to March, AGC said, noting that contractors struggled to find enough workers and to get timely deliveries […]
Russel Metals reported solid first-quarter earnings results and record revenue. All three of the Canadian service center’s business segments generated strong operating results, driving net earnings of $98.7 million CAD ($76.9 million USD), down 2.9% sequentially but up more than 22% year-on-year (YoY). Revenue during the first quarter reached $1.34 billion ($1.04 billion), a 51.3% […]
The outlook among purchasing managers surveyed by the Institute for Supply Management remains positive, and US manufacturing continued to grow April – thought at a slower rate. Last month’s Manufacturing PMI edged down to a reading of 55.4% versus 57.1% in March. The index reading above 50% indicates growth in the manufacturing sector. April’s measure […]
Raw steel production by US mills slipped last week, edging down following three weeks of gains. Domestic output totaled 1,775,000 net tons in the week ending April 30, while mill capacity utilization was 81.3%, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported. US output was down 0.5% versus the week prior and 3.2% below the […]
US manufacturing activity saw a marked improvement in April, expanding at its quickest pace in seven months despite rising inflation, according to the latest data from S&P Global’s purchasing managers survey. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global PMI posted a reading of 59.2 in April, up from 58.8 the month prior, but lower than the earlier released ‘flash’ […]
ArcelorMittal took a big step toward reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at its long products mill in Contrecoeur, Quebec, by partial replacement of natural gas with green hydrogen. The successful test on the mill’s direct reduced iron (DRI) modules saw 6.8% of natural gas replaced with green hydrogen during a 24-hour period. The outcome contributed to a measurable reduction […]
Friedman Industries has acquired PlatePlus Inc. facilities in East Chicago, Ind., and Granite City, Ill., including real estate, buildings, equipment, inventory, and other assets. The deal between the two service center groups closed on April 30, Friedman said. It includes not only steel inventory but also customer and supplier networks from Plateplus locations in Loudon, Tenn. […]
Housing’s share of the economy edged higher at the start of 2022 due in part to a surprise drop in GDP growth. For the first quarter of 2022, overall GDP growth declined at a 1.4% annual rate, driven by increased inventories and a jump in imports, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ analysis […]
The Chicago Business Barometer stumbled in April after exceeding expectations the month prior, according to the latest indicators from Market News International (MNI) and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The measure, also known as the Chicago PMI, has seen some extreme fluctuation in the early going of 2022. April’s decrease comes after the index […]
The US economy shrank in the first quarter of 2022 with gross domestic production declining at a 1.4% annualized pace. The drop was a sharp reversal from an annual growth rate of 6.9% from October through December, according to the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The initial estimate for Q1 was the […]
Monthly Key Market Indicators improved slightly through March, though sentiment remains cautious, according to the latest analysis by Steel Market Update. Neutral and positive indicators have increased, while negative indicators have eased. Consumers and businesses continue to spend even though economic dynamics remain in flux, with supply disruptions weighing on the economy. While inflation continues […]
Ford Motor Co. will idle some production of the Ford Mustang sports car due to the ongoing global semiconductor chip shortage, a company spokesperson told Steel Market Update (SMU). Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant located just 24 miles south of downtown Detroit, Mich., will see a production outage on Thursday, April 28 and Friday, April […]
Sales of new single-family homes fell 8.6% in March compared to the month prior because buyers were deterred by higher prices. The sticker shock results largely from supply chain disruptions and rising mortgage rates. The seasonally adjusted rate in March was 763,000, down an even steeper 12.6% compared to March 2021, the US Department of […]
Ternium plans to continue to invest heavily in and to grow its North American presence – including in the US, company CEO Máximo Vedoya said. Case in point: The Latin American steelmaker is considering a new United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) compliant greenfield electric-arc furnace facility. “An announcement could still be seen in either 2022 or 2023 – we […]
New orders for US manufactured durable goods rebounded in March after sinking for the first time in five months in February. Last month’s bookings for durable goods rose 0.8% following a revised 1.7% decline a month earlier, according to the Commerce Department. The value of core capital goods orders – a proxy for investment in […]
Ternium reported net earnings of $877.5 million in the first quarter of 2022, down from $1.14 billion in the prior quarter but up 24.2% from $706.7 million in the first quarter of 2021. The Latin American flat-rolled steelmaker posted first quarter net sales of $4.30 billion, a 32% compared to the first quarter of last […]
Distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the construction and HVAC sectors are still seeing strong demand despite record-high prices. But the flurry of buying that happened immediately following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine has slowed, members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) said in their monthly conference call on Tuesday. […]
Swedish steelmaker SSAB posted a strong start to 2022 with better-than-expected first-quarter results. The solid performance across all divisions was thanks to high steel prices, offsetting disruptions in Raahe, Finland, and Americas’ operations, the company said. SSAB Americas’ revenue was $7.465 billion Swedish krona ($767 million USD) in the first quarter of 2022, more than […]
Raw steel production by US mills expanded again last week, now rising for a third straight week. Utilization rates grew further, reaching its highest mark in 13 weeks. Domestic output totaled 1,784,000 net tons in the week ending April 23, while mill capacity utilization was 81.7, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. US output […]
Global crude steel production was estimated at 161.1 million metric tons in March as steelmakers around the world expanded output by 18.4 million metric tons, or 12.9%, from the prior month, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) reported. Since reaching an all-time high of 174.4 million metric tons last May, global steel output had waned in […]
US Steel is planning a 21-day maintenance outage on its No. 3 blast furnace at its Mon Valley Works in western Pennsylvania, a company spokeswoman confirmed to Steel Market Update (SMU). The outage, scheduled for mid-October, will be used to apply shotcrete – a sprayed concrete – and other standard upkeep. The furnace is located […]
Nucor Corp. is partnering with the University of Kentucky (UK) Research Foundation on a new carbon dioxide capture system at the steelmaker’s Gallatin sheet mill in Ghent, Ky. The innovative research partnership between Nucor and UK is one of 12 federally funded research projects by a Department of Energy (DOE) grant to advance point-source carbon […]
General Motors will take a week-long downtime at its Bowling Green, Ky., assembly starting Monday, April 25, a company spokesperson told Steel Market Update (SMU). “Only plant down next week is Bowling Green,” he said. “Last-minute issue popped up – a part shortage, not chip-related.” The plant specializes in assembling GM’s Y-body sports cars. The […]
Demand for design services from architecture firms in the US expanded sharply in March, following a more modest increase over the previous three months. The gain marked the 14th consecutive month of growth following the pandemic-induced downturn in 2020. March’s AIA’s Architecture Billings Index registered 58.0, according to the latest report from the American Institute […]
Imports of less expensive sheet and plate products continue to arrive at US ports, but at a slower pace. February marked only the second decrease in overall flat product imports in 10 months, according to Commerce Department data. Imports’ share of the US sheet and plate products markets peaked in December, reaching their highest levels in the […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) expects that its new electric-arc furnace sheet mill in Sinton, Texas, will reach a run rate of approximately 80% by the end of the third quarter and over 90% by year-end, company executives said during the quarterly earnings conference call on Thursday. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker has said that it […]