Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), will be the featured speaker on the next SMU Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, July 27, at 11 a.m. ET. The live webinar is free. A recording will be available free to SMU members. You can register here. We’ll talk about big topics […]
Nucor Corp. experienced another record quarter on strong shipments and steel prices. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steel company saw robust demand from the nonresidential construction markets, with notable profitability at its bar and plate mills as well as within its raw materials segment. Although a decrease is expected in the current quarter’s earnings, profitability should remain […]
Leaders of the American steel industry gathered with members of the Congressional Steel Caucus on Wednesday in Washington, to discuss the state of the industry and how Congress can continue to support this critically important sector of the economy. Topics of discussion at the Caucus hearing included building and supporting critical supply chains and domestic manufacturing, […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) posted record second quarter profits despite a modest margin squeeze stemming from lower steel prices and higher scrap costs. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker also remains bullish about the second half of the year despite concerns about demand in some corners of the market. “Customer order entry activity continues to be […]
Steel Dynamics Inc.’s plan to construct a $2.2 billion recycled aluminum flat-rolled mill and two supporting recycled aluminum slab centers is an unprecedented and an exciting move for a steelmaker, its top executive said. “I haven’t been this excited about a project since we first launched this business,” SDI chairman, president and CEO Mark Millett said […]
Housing starts shrank in June and single-family starts hit a two-year low as the construction sector continues to face compounding headwinds. Rising interest rates, ongoing building material supply chain troubles, and ballooning construction costs put a damper on the single-family housing market. For the first time since June 2020, both single-family starts and permits fell […]
Steel Dynamics, Inc. (SDI) unveiled its plan to build a $2.2 billion recycled aluminum flat-rolled mill and two supporting recycled aluminum slab centers. The proposed $1.9 billion aluminum flat-rolled mill will be located in the southeastern US, with an annual production capacity of 650,000 metric tons of finished products. It will serve the sustainable beverage […]
The prices contractors pay for construction materials and services – chiefly for new nonresidential construction – rose by 1.1% month-on-month (MoM) in June, outpacing the rise in contractors’ bid prices, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported in its latest analysis of government data. AGC warned that rising materials prices were adversely impacting a […]
The US economy has expanded at a modest pace since mid-May, the Federal Reserve said in its latest Beige Book report. But while the economy continues to grow, it has been exhibiting signs of a slowdown over the past month. And recession concerns are rising, the report said. The latest temperature check by the Fed on […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Puneet Paliwal, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor on July 14 The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) registered its third consecutive double-digit percentage decline in July, falling by 18.5% month over month (MoM) to 313.9, its lowest value since February 2021. Bearish sentiment in the metallics market, prevalent since May, has been […]
Startup company Altex Tube LLC is setting up shop on the campus of Steel Dynamics Inc.’s flatrolled sheet mill in Columbus, Miss. Altex’s new, $100 million HSS and mechanical tube mill will manufacture black and pre-galvanized steel tubing ranging in size from 1–6 inches square and 1.25–7.625 inches round, up to 48 feet in length […]
With markets becoming more regional and localized, having a solid supply chain is critical in business today, and Majestic Steel’s latest acquisitions are helping the company create just that for its current and future customers. Majestic, a Cleveland-based prime flat-rolled steel service center and processor, has just completed the acquisition of two more companies to […]
Hot-rolled coil prices fell again this week and now have a tenuous grip on $900 per ton ($45 per cwt). We remain at the lowest price levels since mid-December 2020 – more than 18 months ago. What’s going on? For starters, we know that the low end of our range might come as surprise to some […]
I promised there would be more “Final Thoughts” from me before I retire. Today, I am going to write about conversations I had with steel buyers late last week about the market. But first, a couple of key reminders that are important (at least to me): • SMU Steel Summit Conference = 43 days (Aug. […]
Construction employment increased by 13,000 jobs in June while the number of jobseekers with construction experience plunged to a record low for the month, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported. The construction industry would likely have added even more jobs in June had it not been for the shortage of available workers, AGC […]
Rising inflation and higher mortgage rates are slowing traffic of prospective home buyers and putting a damper on builder sentiment. According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), the headline number fell two more points to a level of 67 in June – the lowest HMI reading since June 2020. […]
By CRU Research Analyst James Mills, from CRU’s Multi-Commodity Monthly Report The upside risk to commodity prices created by the war in Ukraine diminished in June as markets assessed the impact of a slower global demand growth outlook, higher inflation expectations, and a continuation of Covid-19 lockdowns in China. Bearish Economic Forecasts Are Downside Risk […]
This week’s SMU survey results show a big jump in the number of respondents reporting dwindling demand. When asked how they are seeing demand for their products, 40% of respondents said demand is declining. That was a jump from the 26% reporting falling demand in the prior two surveys and from only 5% early in […]
US construction spending in May totaled $1.780 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, 0.1% below April’s upwardly revised $1.783 trillion. This is the first drop since September 2021. The surprising decline month-on-month (MoM) came as a drop in public spending dragged on stalling single-family homebuilding, the Commerce Department reported. The construction spending decline in […]
The US labor market added 372,000 jobs in June, an unexpected boost in hiring. It was ahead of most expectations and only slightly down from May’s revised 384,000 additional payrolls. The result kept the unemployment rate unchanged month on month (MoM) at the pandemic-era low of 3.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Payroll gains […]
There has been a broad consensus that wherever the current market bottoms will be higher than pre-pandemic norms. But as our latest survey results indicate, estimates of where that bottom is keep moving lower. About half of respondents to our latest survey think prices will be $800-899 per ton two months from now. In late […]
Steel prices continued to ease each week throughout June, following declines in May as well. Hot rolled prices were $1,190 per ton ($59.50 per cwt) the first week of June. Prices then slipped between $45 and $90 each of the following weeks, with the SMU index averaging $995 per ton as of last Tuesday. (This […]
The rally was fun while it lasted, but new capacity delayed in large part because of Covid has arrived or soon will, popular analyst Timna Tanners said. And it will coincide with some demand weakness. The result: “steelmageddon” (aka “sheet storm”) might have been delayed. But it has finally arrived, she said. “Here we are with capacity starting […]
Earlier this week SMU canvassed steel buyers on a variety of subjects, ranging from steel prices to supply and demand to new mill capacity. We are sharing the comments we received in each buyers’ own words, rather than summarizing them in ours. Want to have your voice heard and share your comments with SMU? Contact Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com […]
US Steel plans to stop making steel at its Granite City Works near St. Louis in the second half of 2024, a company spokeswoman told Steel Market Update on Tuesday. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker expects that the mill’s blast furnaces will switch over to pig iron production as part of a deal with SunCoke Energy Inc., […]
New home sales posted a solid gain in May following four months of declines. The increase came despite strong headwinds, including rising mortgage rates and high sales prices. The reason: buyers rushing into the market in advance of the Federal Reserve’s June interest rate hike. Sales of newly built, single-family homes in May increased 10.7% to a […]
Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index fell 11 points to an 18-month low last week, the largest survey-to-survey decline since April 2020. Our Future Sentiment Index also declined significantly last week, following another large decline four weeks prior. SMU surveys steel buyers every other week and asks how they view their chances of success […]
Nucor Corp. completed its $3 billion acquisition of C.H.I. Overhead Doors from KKR & Co. Inc. C.H.I. is a manufacturer of residential and commercial overhead and rolling doors, also known as garage doors. It serves US and Canadian markets. The deal expands the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker’s long-term strategy to expand its manufacturing model to provide […]
Demand for design services from architecture firms in the US continued to expand in May, though the score was down three points month-on-month (MoM). May marked the 16th consecutive month of growth following the pandemic-induced downturn in 2020. The May AIA Architecture Billings Index registered 53.5, down slightly from April’s score of 56.5, according to […]
Despite falling prices and declining lead times for galvanized sheet, overall demand is still generally strong and a good reason for optimism, according to members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International on this month’s call of HARDI’s Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council. One HARDI member in the Rocky Mountain region noted that his company […]