Easing pressure on construction costs and supply-chain bottlenecks is at a tipping point, the Associated General Contactors of America (AGC) said, urging the Biden administration to end tariffs and quotas on steel, aluminum, and lumber at once. The cost of goods and services used in construction climbed by a record-setting 4.3% in May and 24.3% […]
Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,834,000 net tons in the week ended June 12, down a slight 0.3% compared to the week prior, but still at a healthy mill utilization rate of 82.6%. That compares to production of 1,272,000 net tons and mill utilization of just 56.8% in the same period last year […]
U.S. steel and metals trade associations warned Congressional leaders that the condition of the nation’s infrastructure is “dire.” They urged legislators to support the “historic” and metal-intensive infrastructure bill proposed by the Biden administration. The trade groups—which claim to represent more than 74,000 domestic facilities—pointed out that an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2021 report card gave U.S. […]
This report examines the import share of tubular and long products shipments. Imports’ share of total tubular products rose to 46.6% in April, up from 46.2% in March. Both domestic shipments (-7.0%) and imports of tubular products (-5.8%) fell month on month, yet domestic shipments edged down at a stronger clip when compared to March. […]
This report examines the import share of sheet and plate products. Imports’ share of total sheet product shipments was 12.5% in April, down from 12.7% in March. By comparison, the import share of total plate product shipments jumped to 19.9% in April, up from 15.7% the month prior. Import share for sheet products has dipped […]
U.S. steel product shipments fell by 2.4% in April following an increase of 15.6% in the month prior. The decline, although disappointing, is not surprising because steel product shipments have been irregular from month to month since bottoming out in May 2020. The lack of consistency has been attributed to seasonal factors at times but […]
U.S. Steel wants to make Big River Steel the leader in non-grain-oriented electrical steels (NGOES). To that end, the Pittsburgh-based integrated steelmaker will invest $450 million at Big River’s steel mill in Osceola, Ark., to target the growing demand from the electric vehicle market. Funded entirely from cash generated at Big River, the NGOES expansion […]
Steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs marked sixth months of continued operation and production of hot-briquetted iron (HBI) at its direct reduction plant in Toledo, Ohio, with a ribbon-cutting celebration. In attendance for the June 9 on-site event hosted by Cliffs’ Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves were Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D, Ohio), and Toledo […]
The U.S. economy recovered from the disappointing showing in April by adding 559,000 new jobs in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported. Although fewer workers were added to the payroll than the 700,000-plus forecasted by economists, the May jobs report was in line with February and March totals. The gains underscore the positive impact of steady […]
The U.S. labor market gained some ground in May following a disappointing performance the month prior. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that employers added 559,000 workers to their payrolls in May, a vast improvement from the measly 266,000 new jobs added in April – but still behind the 770,000 new hires in […]
Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,840,000 net tons in the week ended June 5, up 0.2% compared to the week prior when production totaled 1,836,000 net tons, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The mill utilization rate last week averaged 82.3%, up from 81.5% the week before and up 46.3% […]
Shipbuilder Austal USA has been awarded a design contract to build a new ship for the U.S. Navy. The agreement, valued at $3.6 million, is for the functional design and construction of the new 80-meter (252.5 foot) Navajo-class Steel Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS). This follows recent news of Austral USA’s new steel manufacturing […]
The construction sector continues to gain momentum, but the effects of the COVID pandemic linger. Growth remains uneven as most sectors are still struggling to rebound from the doldrums seen last year. Total construction spending during April 2021, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, was $1.524 trillion, up 0.2% from March’s revised estimate of $1.521 trillion, […]
U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.4% in the first quarter of 2021 on an annualized basis, according to the second estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The second estimate saw no change in overall GDP compared to the advance estimate; however, upward revisions to consumer spending and nonresidential fixed investment were […]
Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,836,000 net tons in the week ended May 29, up 2.4% compared to the week prior when production totaled 1,793,000 net tons, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The mill utilization rate last week averaged 81.5%, up from 79.0% the week before and up 50.1% […]
Nonresidential construction spending hit a two-year low in April, down for a fifth consecutive month due to supply-chain woes and soaring costs, according to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Extended delivery and production times as well as fast-rising materials prices caused demand to wane across several public and private project categories. “Both public […]
Zekelman Industries plans to build a fully automated warehouse at its Wheatland Tube facility in Warren, Ohio. The highly automated, 83,000-square-foot warehouse is scheduled to begin operating in December 2022. The new warehouse will convey pipe from the production lines of the manufacturing facility into the warehouse storage system. From there, pipe is automatically moved […]
U.S. consumer confidence saw little change in May following repeated gains since the beginning of 2021, according to the latest data from The Conference Board. The May index edged down marginally by 0.3 points month on month, following increases of more than 30 points from February through April. “After rebounding sharply in recent months, U.S. consumer […]
Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,793,000 net tons in the week ended May 22, down 0.3% compared to the week prior when production totaled 1,799,000 net tons, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The mill utilization rate last week averaged 79.0%, down from 79.2% the week before but up 46.6% […]
Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais (Usiminas) has delayed planned upgrades to its blast furnace No. 3 (BF3) by 10 months. This is the second postponement to work on BF3 by the Brazilian steelmaker since originally confirming the planned investments in mid-2019. Due the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the Brazilian marketplace, in specific the automotive […]
Salzgitter Mannesmann International (USA), Inc., will be under the new leadership of Thomas Rechtien, effective June 1. Rechtien most recently was responsible for the North American trading arm of Salzgitter Mannesmann International (USA), Inc., as General Manager of Trading and Automotive. Rechtien has served in a variety of roles during his 12-year tenure at the […]
World crude steel production in April was unable to sustain the recent surge in output, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel) data. As the globe works to recover from the economic blows inflicted by COVID-19 in 2020, global steel production is seeing mixed results. Following March’s month-on-month 12.7% jump, April’s underwhelming increase of 0.1% further […]
Ternium has completed its new hot strip mill in Pesqueria, Mexico, ahead of schedule. The Latin American steelmaker ran its first two hot rolled coils in mid-May at the new mill near Monterrey, more than two weeks ahead of its originally planned June start-up. “This is a very important milestone; it is the result of […]
Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,799,000 in the week ending May 15, up 1.4% compared to the week prior when production totaled 1,774,000 net tons, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The mill utilization rate last week averaged 79.2%, up from 78.1% the week before and up 47.1% from the […]
Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of monthly Key Market Indicators shows that the Present Situation markers have improved when compared to the month prior, while the Trend change saw a marginal contraction during the same period. Overall, the marketplace continues to recover from the pandemic as key metrics show further improvement. SMU’s Key Market Indicators […]
Auto assemblies in North America backpedaled in April as the ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips intensified and hindered automakers’ ability to produce cars and trucks, according to LMC Automotive (LMCA). April’s production totaled 1.087 million units, down from 1.217 million units in March or 10.7%. March saw a bump in auto production—the first in nearly […]
Mill shipments of steel products improved by 18.3% in March compared to the month prior, while apparent supply increased by 18.1% during the same period. The double-digit gains are even more impressive considering their low performance in February, the first decline in both apparent supply and shipments of steel since the market reached bottom back in […]
This report examines the import share of sheet and plate products. Imports’ share of total sheet product shipments was 12.7% in March, down from 14.0% in February. The decrease corresponds to a simultaneous increase in domestic shipments and a rise in imports; however, the surge in domestic shipments at 17.4% month on month outpaced the […]
This report examines the import share of tubular and long products shipments. Imports’ share of total tubular products rose to 46.2% in March, up from 44.6% in February. Despite a 30.7% surge in domestic tubular shipments month on month, imports were even stronger at 39.3% in March compared to February. Tubular imports fell consecutively in […]
Raw steel production by U.S. mills edged down 0.8% in the week ending May 8 compared to the week prior, the first decrease in nearly a month, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Production totaled 1,774,000 net tons last week while mill utilization averaged 78.1%, down from 1,788,000 net tons and 78.7% […]