Housing starts and building permit authorizations fell in August according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 956,000, 14.4 percent below the July revised estimate of 1,117,000 but 8.0 percent above the August 2013 estimate. Single family housing starts fell 2.4 percent to a […]
US Steel announced today that as part of its strategic transformation effort it will no longer pursue the expansion of its Keetac iron ore pellet operations at Keewatin, Minn., or continue additional investments into the carbon alloy facility at Gary Works. The expansion at Keetac was intended to upgrade and restart the idled pelletizing line […]
AK Steel announced today the completion of the $707 million purchase of Severstal Dearborn, which includes a cokemaking facility and interest in three joint venture steel processing facilities. The mill will be renamed “Dearborn Works.” “At AK Steel, the future is now, and the future is bright, as our acquisition of Dearborn Works makes us […]
Industrial production (IP) and manufacturing capacity utilization for August 2014: Both of these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP index was reported as 104.12 for August, a decline of 0.1 percent from July. This is another example where the individual month’s result can be misleading. The three month […]
Big River Steel has been granted a 28-day extension to respond to the latest lawsuit brought by rival steel mill, Nucor Corporation. Nucor filed a suit in federal court last month to block construction of the 1.3 billion steel mill and to revoke the air permit that was granted to Big River. Nucor claims the […]
Steel Market Update featured Timna Tanners, Metals & Mining Analyst, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, and John Anton, Director of Steel Services, IHS Global, at a luncheon presentation at the recent Steel Summit. The topic was commodity and steel forecasts and consolidation of the industry. As usual the two disagreed on some topics and sparked some […]
Canada building permit values were up 11.8 percent from June to July to a value of $9.2 billion. On a year-over year basis, building permits increased 13.3 percent. Multi-family dwellings and institutional buildings led the increase. Residential building permit values rose 5.2 percent month over month to a record $4.2 billion. Permits were authorized for […]
After setting a record optimistic high of +68 at the beginning of August 2014, SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index has now declined for the second time and stands at +53. The most recent measurement is still well within the optimistic parameters for our index. Even so, we are concerned with the 15 point dip that […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. July data was released on September 1st. Construction Put in Place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for a given month from a sample of projects. In effect the […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The total number of indicators considered at present is thirty five, the Chicago Fed Mid-West Manufacturing Index is still on hold to enable the staff to complete a major re-vamp of the […]
The following is a press release by the Associated General Contractors of America: ACG, Sept 2, 2014 — Growing demand for construction services comes as new study finds one-in-four construction firms turning down work because of growing labor shortages for the industry. All major categories of construction spending increased in July and total construction reached […]
We’ve gone well past hectic as we are literally within a few hours of kicking off our 4th Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta. We exceeded our registration goals and we had to expand both of the rooms we are using at the Georgia International Convention Center to accommodate the extra people. The place is set […]
There were no surprises raised during the most recent HARDI steel conference call conducted earlier this morning (Tuesday, August 26th). There were no surprises because on the previous call, held in July, the galvanized steel group members discussed the potential for new coating extras as zinc prices rose above $1.00 per pound. As anticipated back […]
The following is an abridged version of the Chicago Federal Reserve statement followed by our own graphical analysis. The Chicago Federal Reserve National Activity Index (CFNAI) is an excellent reality check for much of the economic analysis that we routinely provide in the Steel Market Update. An explanation of the Index is provided at the […]
Australian company BlueScope Steel announced FY 2014 underlying EBIT of AUD 104.6 million (USD 97.2 million) for its 50 percent ownership of U.S. based North Star BlueScope Steel. The increased profit, up 57 percent from FY 2013 AUD 66.7 million, was due primarily to stronger spread from higher hot rolled coil prices that were partially […]
With August steel imports looking like they may exceed May’s high of over 4 million tons and the recent influx of steel at the Port of Houston, Steel Market Update asked other U.S. ports to give their assessment of steel volume and port conditions. Port of Los Angeles “The Port of Los Angeles has seen […]
The latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score was released on Wednesday morning, reporting that the latest index was the highest since July 2007. The ABI score for July was 55.8, a jump up from June’s score of 53.5. Note that the index is centered around 50, with scores above 50 indicating an aggregate increase in […]
TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline has been on hold since 2008 waiting for U.S. presidential approval of the permit to allow the pipeline to cross the U.S./Canada border. President Obama has said he would approve the pipeline only if it did “not significantly exacerbate the climate problem.” Opponents of the pipeline are concerned the pipeline will […]
Total service center carbon steel shipments in July increased by 11,600 tons to 3.539 million tons. Shipping days also increased, from 21 to 22. On a tons per day basis, (t/d) shipments decreased from 168,000 tons in June to 160,900 in July but the latest data has the best shipments of any July since 2008. […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts out its series of Producer Price Indexes (PPI) for thousands of goods and materials. The latest release on Friday reported July results. These statistics are a useful way to evaluate any changes in the competitive position of steel against competing materials and rail vs truck transportation. […]
Nucor Corp. is continuing its legal battle to prevent the construction of neighboring competitor Big River Steel. The company has filed another environmental complaint on August 7 in the US District Court in Jonesboro, Arkansas, claiming emissions from the planned mill would harm the air quality in Mississippi County. Previous legal attempts by Nucor to […]
The Dodge Momentum Index, a monthly measure of initial reports for nonresidential building projects in planning, fell 4.4 percent in July after making gains the last three months. On a year-over-year basis the index is still 16.5 percent higher than the same month last year. “The July decline, therefore, may simply be a return to […]
Kloeckner Metals Corp. shipments fell by 3.8 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2014, due to the extended winter, consolidation of sites and the reduction of low-margin business. EBITDA improved by 27 percent from €41 million to €52 million ($55 million to $69.7 million), helped by operational improvements and higher-margins. The company expects US […]
ArcelorMittal iron ore mining operations in Liberia are in an expansion phase but the recent outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has the company taking extra precautions to safeguard employees. The following statement was issued by the company on August 8. Luxembourg, 8 August 2014 – ArcelorMittal is currently mining and shipping 5 million tonnes […]
This afternoon, Steel Market Update reported the SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index +68 for early August 2014. This is the highest level ever recorded and the most optimistic we have seen buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel since the Sentiment Index began in November 2008. Positive numbers (above zero) indicate an optimistic attitude exists […]
Building permits in Canada rose in value by 13.5 percent in June to $8.0 billion according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. The jump in value surprised market analysts who were expecting a 2.0 percent decline from May. Quebec non-residential construction intentions led the increase, rising 32.5 percent to $3.8 billion. Residential permits increased […]
The July 2014 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices addressed changes in the standards and terms on, and demand for, bank loans to businesses and households over the past three months. This summary is based on the responses from 75 domestic banks and 23 U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks. Below […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. June data was released on August 1st. Construction put in place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for a given month from a sample of projects. In effect the […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report on non-farm employment indicated that 209,000 jobs were added in July, June was revised up by 10,000 to 298,000 and May up by 5,000 to 229,000. The three month moving average, (3MMA) declined to 245,000 in July after four consecutive months of growth beginning in February at 150,000, […]
The SMU Key Market Indicators is a Premium Level product produced by Peter Wright in collaboration with Steel Market Update. Our Executive Level members have been getting access to all of the Premium Level data for the month of July (today is the last day). This includes access to all of the Premium data which […]