New, single‐family home sales fell in September as rising mortgage rates stymied demand, according to a joint report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Census Bureau. Sales of newly constructed single-family homes fell 10.9% month-on-month (MoM) in September. Mortgage rates reached an average of 6.11% last month, while just […]
Demand for galvanized sheet is strong or softening, depending on where you’re located, according to members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council. And with pricing bouncing along somewhat steadily in recent weeks, most members are not expecting any big swings in galvanized pricing in the coming months. In […]
Nucor Corp. announced Wednesday plans to build two new galvanizing lines, with specific details for one line to be constructed at the Nucor Steel Berkeley sheet mill in Huger, S.C. The $425 million investment will create more than 50 full-time jobs, with an expected start-up date of mid-2025. Nucor said this expansion will provide more […]
Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Algoma Steel Inc. expects results for its fiscal 2023 second quarter to be down significantly compared to prior quarters because of operational challenges, declining shipments, and lower prices. In its latest earnings guidance, the Sault St. Marie, Ontario-based company said it expects fiscal ’23 Q2 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and […]
The US economy was balanced between “slight to modest” growth and softening in early July but is headed for “generally weak” in the next six to 12 months, the Federal Reserve said in its latest Beige Book report. The latest temperature check by the Fed on the state of the economy said the outlook for […]
New, single‐family home sales bounced back in August despite high prices and rising mortgage rates. Although those dynamics have pushed some buyers away, sales of newly constructed homes jumped 28.8% month-on-month (MoM) in August, according to a joint report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Census Bureau. Last month’s […]
We’ve seen a wave of mill idlings and outages this fall. But steel buyer reaction to date has been subdued. The yawn now in response to all those tons coming out of the market stands in stark contrast to the almost hysterical reaction to downtime at even the smallest producers in early 2021. Remember the […]
By CRU Research Analyst Aaron Kearney-Keaveny, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 2.2% month-on-month (MoM) to 312.3, following four continuous months of decline since May 2022. This MoM rise in the CRUmpi was specifically driven by a sharp rebound in Asian scrap prices while European prices stabilized. […]
Ford Motor Co. has broken ground on a new, $5.6 billion auto production complex in Stanton, Tenn., where it plans to build all-new electric trucks and advanced batteries. The groundbreaking comes less than a year after the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker and SK On, a Seoul-based battery technology company, announced the investment. A mega campus of […]
Aluminum May Be Approaching the End of Its Long Destocking Cycle Last week, I described our premise about demand versus real consumption. We talked about the market’s natural tendency to destock when prices take a beating as they have during most of 2022. The latest Index of Orders from the Aluminum Association offers some early […]
Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects including current and future steel prices, inventory strategies, supply, demand, and new mill capacity. We are sharing the comments we received in each buyer’s own words, rather than summarizing them in ours. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com to be […]
Existing home sales in the US continue to be impacted by escalating mortgage rates, according to the latest information from the National Association of Realtors. Falling for a seventh consecutive month, sales of existing homes in August declined 0.4% from the month prior and were down 19.9% from one year ago to a seasonally-adjusted annual […]
Demand for design services from US architecture firms continued to grow in August, with the pace of growth inching upward month-on-month. The August AIA Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score was up for the first time in five months. The development also marked the 19th consecutive month of growth following the pandemic-induced downturn in 2020. Recall […]
Housing starts saw a double-digit gain in August driven by a surge in multifamily production. Despite the overall gain, high mortgage rates and building production bottlenecks continue to act as a drag on the single-family housing market. Overall housing starts increased 12.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.58 million units in August from […]
By CRU Senior China Economist Henry Hao, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook and China Macro Monthly China’s economy showed resilience in August, with growth in industrial production, investment, and retail sales shoring up the recovery from the effects of Covid lockdowns and heatwaves. The worsening property slump, however, continues to drag on the economy and threaten the […]
Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects including current and future steel prices, inventory strategies, supply, demand, and new mill capacity. We are sharing the comments we received in each buyer’s own words, rather than summarizing them in ours. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com to be […]
Zekelman Industries is set to build a new steel tube galvanizing facility in Blytheville, Ark. The new, 200,000-tons-per-year Wheatland Tube facility will share a campus with Zekelman’s existing Atlas Tube operations there. The new facility will serve the fence, solar, and mechanical markets, producing tubes using Wheatland’s ThunderCoat™ inline galvanized coating. Construction is slated to […]
The prices contractors pay for construction materials and services—chiefly for new nonresidential construction—declined 1.1% month-on-month (MoM) in August, as a steep drop in fuel prices masked increases in the cost of other construction inputs, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported in its latest analysis of government data. AGC cautioned that limited price declines […]
SSAB Americas is forging ahead to show customers, the government, and other stakeholders that it is serious about sustainability and achieving its ultimate goal of “net zero” emissions. The flat-rolled steelmaker recently released Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its steel plate and coil products that show it is well ahead not just of others in […]
To stimulate the development of low-carbon, made-in-America materials, the Biden administration has announced new activities under the Federal Buy Clean Initiative. An announcement made by the White House on Sept. 15 in Toledo, Ohio, noted that the Federal Government will prioritize the purchase of essential low-carbon construction materials, covering 98% of materials purchased by the […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. expects its third quarter earnings to be down from the second quarter as the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker is seeing lower flat rolled earnings and pricing, as well as continued impacts from the start-up of its new sheet mill in Sinton, Texas. SDI’s earnings guidance is in the range of $4.93–4.97 per […]
The Dodge Momentum Index ticked down 1.2% in August, losing ground on the downwardly revised reading for the month prior, according to data and analytics from the Dodge Construction Network. The index registered 171.9 last month, down from 174.0 in July. The leading index for commercial real estate measures data about planned nonresidential building projects […]
Construction employment increased by 16,000 jobs in August, though the sector’s unemployment rate was up at 3.9%, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported. Contractors were eager to hire more employees last month though they were stymied by a dearth of qualified workers. More than 90% of contractors are having a hard time finding […]
ArcelorMittal is committed to EV. The Luxembourg-based steel company recently announced a collaboration to provide its steel knowledge to Atlis Motor Vehicles. ArcelorMittal will provide its S-in motion® solutions to hasten the design process. Currently, Atlis is developing a fully electric truck that will be designed for individuals working in the agriculture, service, utilities, and construction […]
Steel prices eased overall throughout August, following declines seen in the three previous months. Hot rolled prices were $805 per ton ($40.25 per cwt) the first week of August, falling to a low of $770 per ton in the middle of the month, and rising to $785 per ton as of last Tuesday. The SMU […]
Hot rolled and galvanized prices continue to decline but many continue to go unchanged, members said during this month’s call with HARDI’s Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council. Much like July, members are currently seeing strong demand and foresee stability in the near future. It’s been an eventful month to say the least. Nucor and Cleveland-Cliffs both […]
The steel and commodity price forecast panel – always a popular program at SMU’s Steel Summit – once again didn’t disappoint. Speakers included three of the steel industry’s most respected analysts: Josh Spoores, CRU’s principal steel analyst, Timna Tanners, Wolfe Research’s managing director, and John Anton, S&P Global Market Intelligence’s director. The sheet market today […]
The automotive, construction and energy sectors have seen their fair share of hurdles over the past year or so. Despite near-term headwinds, the outlook is bright, according to a panel speaking at the 2022 SMU Steel Summit conference in Atlanta. If we had a crystal ball, we likely would still lack the ability to discern […]
Economic conditions are still iffy at best. Housing data continues to suffer with new home sales plunging and inventory reaching the highest it has been since 2009. The Richmond and Kansas City Fed manufacturing indexes both plunged in July as well. The Richmond Fed’s manufacturing skill availability index, which indicates the demand for skilled labor […]
New home sales fell to their lowest level since January 2016, further signaling a waning housing market, according to the latest data from the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The tepid sales pace continued to match declining builder confidence, a trend that has been gaining momentum since the beginning […]