Today I was on a conference call with steel buyers associated with HARDI, the trade organization whose members sell galvanized steel and other products to mechanical contractors. We have an article about the call in this evening’s issue, but there was one fact that was brought up by multiple executives: the price increases “have not […]
Demand for steel sheet products declined by more than the seasonal norm in September. This analysis by Steel Market Update is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import/export data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). The analysis summarizes total steel supply by product from 2003 […]
Raw steel output by U.S. mills declined slightly in the week ending Nov. 9, taking the average mill utilization down to 80.5 percent from 81.7 percent the week before. Production totaled 1,862,000 net tons last week, down 1.4 percent from the previous week and down 2.2 percent compared with the same week last year, reported the […]
September apparent steel supply slipped to 8.7 million net tons, the lowest level seen since December 2017, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute and U.S. Department of Commerce. Apparent steel supply, a proxy for demand, is determined by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total U.S. […]
Raw steel output by U.S. mills increased by nearly a full percentage point in the week ending Nov. 2, the third increase in as many weeks, taking the average mill utilization up to 81.7 percent of capacity. Production totaled 1,888,000 net tons, up 1.2 percent from the previous week and up 0.1 percent compared with […]
Raw steel output by U.S. mills saw another small increase in the week ending Oct. 26 taking the average mill utilization rate back up over 80 percent of capacity. Production totaled 1,866,000 net tons at a utilization rate of 80.7 percent, up 1.4 percent from the previous week but down 0.6 percent compared with the […]
Steel imports are down significantly this year, the result of trade actions and economic forces, but the import market share is relatively unchanged. Through the first nine months of 2019, the U.S. imported at total of 22.6 million tons of steel, a 13.7 percent decline from the same period in 2018, reports the American Iron […]
The international debate over the world’s oversupply of steel will go on, but without China’s participation in the G20’s Global Forum on Excess Steel Capacity. Ministers meeting in Tokyo over the weekend declined to extend the mandate for the forum, which is scheduled to lapse in December, primarily due to opposition from China. Other nations […]
Raw steel output by U.S. mills saw a small increase in the week ending Oct. 19. Production totaled 1,841,000 net tons at a mill utilization rate of 79.6 percent, up 1.1 percent from the previous week but down 1.9 percent compared with the same week last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Adjusted year-to-date […]
Based on Steel Market Update’s analysis of 10 indicators, U.S. manufacturing output is now contracting and articles manufactured from iron and steel are down by 6.1 percent year over year. This report summarizes 10 data streams that describe the state of U.S. manufacturing in general and the steel industry in particular. In data released in […]
Mill capacity utilization by U.S. mills has leveled off in the high 70 percent range. Raw steel production for the week ending Oct. 12 totaled 1,821,000 net tons at a mill utilization rate of 78.7 percent, up 0.9 percent from the previous week but down 3.0 percent compared with the same week last year, reported the […]
August apparent steel supply rose to 9,625,558 net tons, the highest level seen since April of this year, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute and U.S. Department of Commerce. Apparent steel supply, a proxy for demand, is determined by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total […]
Demand for sheet products spiked to over five million tons in August for the first time since August last year, though flat rolled demand remains tepid. Construction expenditures are softening and will reduce the demand for long products through the balance of 2019. This analysis by Steel Market Update is based on steel mill shipment […]
U.S. steel mills shipped 8,472,088 net tons for the month of August, a 4.4 percent increase from the 8,115,103 net tons shipped in the previous month, July 2019, and a 0.4 percent increase from the 8,441,597 net tons shipped in August 2018, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. Shipments year-to-date totaled 64,810,436 […]
Census Bureau data confirms a slowdown in steel product shipments and new orders in 2019. Steel industry trade association data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) are most widely used to assess the state of the industry. In addition, the Census Bureau provides monthly data on […]
Raw steel production by U.S. mills has been stuck in the high 70 percent range for the past seven weeks. The last time the utilization rate was above the desired mark of 80 percent was the week ending Aug. 24. Production for the most recent week ending Oct. 5 totaled 1,804,000 net tons at a […]
U.S. raw steel production in August fell 0.3 percent to 8,152,796 net tons, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. August production is in line with the 2019 average of 8,147,242 tons and down 1.1 percent compared to the same month last year. Broken down by production method, 5,752,849 tons (70.6 percent) were […]
EVRAZ NA President “Skip” Herald is the newest addition to the American Iron and Steel Institute Board of Directors. “Skip Herald has had an impressive career, and I am excited to welcome him to the AISI Board of Directors,” said AISI Chairman and AK Steel CEO Roger Newport. “Skip’s wealth of experience will be an […]
With three quarters of 2019 nearly complete, U.S. steel mills have managed to keep capacity utilization above the industry’s target of 80 percent, producing 3.4 percent more steel than they did in the first three quarters of 2018, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Through the week ending Sept. 28, domestic steelmakers produced 72,593,000 net […]
Last week, President Trump revoked the federal waiver that had allowed California to set vehicle emissions standards that are more restrictive than the federal standards. California and 22 other states quickly sued the Trump administration in federal court over the states’ rights to protect their own air quality. The president’s move sets in motion a […]
Steelmakers had a good run, keeping their mills running at 80 percent capacity or better for 30 weeks this year. But the market has shifted and the trend has reversed. Raw steel production by U.S. mills saw another small decline last week, taking the industry’s average capability utilization rate down to 77.7 percent. Mill utilization […]
Total U.S. raw steel production in the month of July rose 2.4 percent to 8,178,563 net tons, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. August production is right in line with the 2019 average of 8,146,449 tons and is up 0.5 percent compared to the same month last year. Broken down by production […]
July apparent steel supply was calculated at 9,351,701 net tons, according to data recently released by the American Iron and Steel Institute and U.S. Department of Commerce. Apparent steel supply, a proxy for demand, is determined by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total U.S. steel exports. July apparent steel […]
The growth of manufacturing in the U.S. is slowing, and on a single-month basis the ISM index became negative in August. This does not bode well for the balance of 2019 or for 2020, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of 11 manufacturing indicators. This report summarizes 11 data streams that describe the state of […]
Demand for sheet products is declining due to the weakness in manufacturing. Construction expenditures are showing signs of softening and will reduce the demand for long products through the balance of 2019. This analysis by Steel Market Update is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import/export […]
Raw steel production by domestic steelmakers declined for the third week in a row, taking the industry’s average capability utilization rate down by another full percentage point to 77.8 percent. The last time the utilization rate was above 80 percent was the week of Aug. 24. Mill production has dipped by nearly 3 percentage points […]
Raw steel production by domestic steelmakers dipped for the second week in a row, taking the industry’s average capacity utilization rate down to 78.8 percent–the lowest level since the week of Aug. 4, 2018. Production for the week ending Sept. 7 totaled 1,835,000 net tons, down 0.8 percent from the previous week and down 1.7 […]
Raw steel production by domestic steelmakers dipped by 1.4 percent last week, taking the industry’s average capacity utilization rate down more than a percentage point to 79.5 percent–below the 80 percent mark the mills strive to maintain. Production for the week ending Aug. 31 totaled 1,850,000 net tons, also down 0.6 percent compared with the […]
Demand for long products continues to be very strong, driven by the construction industry. Demand for sheet products is declining due to the weakness in manufacturing. This analysis by Steel Market Update is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import-export data from the U.S. Department of […]
Steel mill capacity utilization climbed back over the 80 percent mark last week, increasing by 1.1 percent to register 80.6 percent, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Production was up by 0.9 percent compared with the same period last year. Raw steel production for the week ending Aug. 24 totaled 1,877,000 net tons. Domestic […]