Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel products continue to be optimistic about their company’s ability to be successful in the current market environment, however at lower levels than what we had been seeing over the past few months. The Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel Buyers Sentiment Index was measured this week at +33 down […]
Existing home sales fell in October but low inventory continues to drive home prices upward said the National Association of Realtors in their November report. Existing housing inventory stood at 2.13 million homes at the end of October—a drop of 1.8 percent from last month. Home sales fell 3.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual […]
After three months of increases, the Architecture Billing Index dropped to 51.6 in October from 54.3 in September, indicating a slower pace of growth for construction design activity. The new project inquiry index, an indicator for future demand, rose to 61.5 from 58.6 last month. Calculated on a three month moving average, the regional averages […]
Both industrial production (IP) and manufacturing capacity utilization data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP index was reported as 99.98 for October, down by 0.14 from September. This index is based on the July 2007 level being defined as 100. The three month moving average, (3MMA) accelerated to a […]
Negotiations on 2014 flat rolled steel contracts are heating up. Sources are advising Steel Market Update that there has been some movement in the negotiation process by the domestic mills which has allowed a number of the mills to close some 2014 business. We are also hearing from multiple sources of a move by buyers […]
Severstal NA reported sales volume increased 2.6 percent quarter-over-quarter to 1.2 million tonnes in the third quarter due to improved sales of CRC and galvanized products. Revenue was reported at $993 million, up 4.2 percent from $953 million in the second quarter. Higher sales volume and pricing along with lower costs at Severstal Columbus resulted […]
Net job creation in October was 204,000; August and September were revised up by 45,000 and 15,000 respectively. In October 169,000 jobs were created in services and 35,000 in goods producing industries. The private sector added 212,000 jobs as government shed 8,000. Of the goods producing, 19,000 were in manufacturing and 11,000 in construction (Table […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) concluded our early November research on the flat rolled steel market earlier today. One of the areas we queried was if those responding to our questionnaire believe that the domestic mills will raise flat rolled steel prices within the first two weeks of November. With 72 percent of the respondents responding […]
This morning’s report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis surprised on the upside with a growth of 0.7 percent from Q2 and 2.82 percent annualized. GDP in Q3 2013 was 1.65 percent higher than in Q3 2012. This data is the first estimate for the third quarter; revisions have often been substantial recently. The following […]
Once a quarter the Federal Reserve surveys the senior loan officers of 73 domestic banks and 22 U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks. Questions cover changes in the standards and terms of the banks’ lending and the state of business and household demand for loans. The survey preamble was as follows. “The October 2013 […]
Latin American steel mill Ternium reported net sales of 2.14 billion on shipments of 2.3 million tons of steel and 930 thousand tons of iron ore. Steel shipments were up 4 percent from second quarter and 2 percent from third quarter 2012. Iron ore shipments were down 24 percent from second quarter but up 106 […]
The Department of Commerce economic data is running late and in the case of CPIP the September data will be released along with October on December 2nd. We now have August data released almost a month late. Normally, this would be a Premium Level analysis only. Since the reports are running behind we decided to […]
Goldman Sachs steel analysts, in a letter to their clients seen by Steel Market Update, upgraded the steel sector as they feel, “…we see the sector heading to a sustainable recovery over the coming years…” They went on to tell their clients, “The supply-demand fundamentals for steel are starting to look more appealing, particularly for […]
Nucor Steel has filed an objection to the air quality permit issued to Big River Steel in an effort to block construction of the $1.1 billion mill. The challenge to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality decision will push back the ground breaking for the new steel mill to the first quarter of 2014. Big […]
Review of Manufacturing. October 31st 2013 Each month the Steel Market Update publishes a table of what we believe to be the most significant indicators of the state of the steel market and current results in the long and flat rolled sectors. We will be discussing one section of this table in detail each month, […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index indicated steady business conditions for New York manufacturers in October. The general business index fell 5 points to 1.5 but remained in growth status. The new orders index rose 5 points while shipping fell 3 points, suggesting modest increases for both indexes for the month. The prices paid index remained […]
The combination of higher spot prices for flat rolled steel and adjustments to contract negotiations has caused some steel buyers to seek alternatives to their normal domestic source of supply. Steel Market Update is beginning to get confirmations from both manufacturing companies and service centers of larger foreign tonnage purchases being made for 1st and […]
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 six. The present situation of eleven of the indicators based on historical standards was positive on October 31st and thirteen were negative; […]
The European Steel Association (Eurofer) says the year-over-year decline in the European Union (EU) steel industry is beginning to lessen and should show positive growth in 2014, according to the Eurofer Economic and Steel Market Outlook 2013-2014. The SWIP (Steel Weighted Industrial Production) Index is expected to be down -1.1 percent in the third quarter […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The Industrial Production (IP) index was reported as 100.04 for September, up by 5.7 percent from the 99.47 result in August. This was the first month >100 since February 2008. The three month moving average (3MMA) increased by 2.5 percent year over […]
Caterpillar Inc. third quarter sales and revenues dropped to $13.423 billion from $16.445 billion in the third quarter of 2012. As a result, Caterpillar has revised its 2013 outlook downward and now expects sales and revenue of about $55 billion from the previous range of $56 to $58 billion. “This year has proven to […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum increased sales 18.9 percent to $2.44 billion in the third quarter 2013 from $2.06 billion in third quarter 2012. Tons sold were up 31.3 percent year-over-year to 1.45 billion tons. Net income was $95.1 million, down 3.1 percent from $98.1 million in the third quarter of 2012 and up 17.4 percent from […]
The combination of higher spot prices and adjustments to contract negotiations has caused some buyers of flat rolled steel to seek alternatives to their normal domestic source of supply. Steel Market Update is beginning to get confirmations from both manufacturing companies and service centers of larger foreign tonnage purchases being made for 1st and early […]
Net job creation in September was 148,000 of which 122,000 was service providing and 22,000 goods producing. Of the service providing 22,000 was in government. Of the goods producing, 2,000 were in manufacturing and 20,000 in construction (Table 1). Expectations had been for a gain of 180,000. Digging into the September numbers reveals weak growth […]
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) increased yet again for September, reaching its second highest level in 2013, just behind February. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects reported on Wednesday that the […]
Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning, Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United States […]
Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United […]
NLMK USA steel sales totaled 451,000 metric tons (497,141 net tons) for third quarter of 2013, an increase of 5.1 percent from second quarter and 8.7 percent from third quarter 2012. The increase was due mostly to greater US sales for hot rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized steel—275,000 tonnes (303,135 net tons) and 65,000 tonnes […]
Based on responses from the Steel Market Update (SMU) mid-October steel market survey, SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index is +38 and is considered to represent an optimistic view of the industry by those buying and selling flat rolled steel products. The latest reading is up one point over our early October measurement but is one […]
Steel Dynamics reported a strong third quarter net income of $57 million on net sales of $1.9 billion. In comparison, SDI reported $13 million net income on net sales of $1.7 billion in September 2012, and $29 million on net sales of $1.8 billion in second quarter 2013. “Our consolidated operating income increased 64 percent […]