Housing starts picked up the pace in May, jumping 3.6% from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,572,000, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Single-family starts rose 4.2% and construction on homes of five units or more increased 4%. “Single-family starts […]
It is a good time to be a steel producer. Both Steel Dynamics and Nucor are expecting record earnings for the second quarter of 2021 supported by strong demand and unprecedented steel prices. And U.S. Steel expects second quarter adjusted EBITDA more than double that in the first. SDI expects earnings to be in the range […]
Easing pressure on construction costs and supply-chain bottlenecks is at a tipping point, the Associated General Contactors of America (AGC) said, urging the Biden administration to end tariffs and quotas on steel, aluminum, and lumber at once. The cost of goods and services used in construction climbed by a record-setting 4.3% in May and 24.3% […]
The Art of Forecasting… This week I saw another milestone drop that I never thought I would live to see. Galvanized base pricing out of a domestic mill at $100.00/cwt (seems like there is an extra digit there for some reason). I go back far enough to remember galvanized steel prices around $10.00/cwt…. For the […]
The Art of Forecasting… This week I saw another milestone drop that I never thought I would live to see. Galvanized base pricing out of a domestic mill at $100.00/cwt (seems like there is an extra digit there for some reason). I go back far enough to remember galvanized steel prices around $10.00/cwt…. For the […]
Flat Rolled = 45.3 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 45.2 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled U.S. service center flat rolled inventories grew significantly in May as mills caught up on deliveries and intake increased. At the end of May, service centers carried 45.3 shipping days of supply on an adjusted basis, up from […]
By Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steelmaking Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) increased by 8.6% m/m in June to 402.4. This increase is primarily a reflection of large price increases for scrap in Europe and the U.S., although some increases occurred in Asia as well. After rising substantially in May, pig iron […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis Ten years ago the aluminum can, and the aluminum sheet mills that supplied them, looked to be on borrowed time. Aluminum beverage can shipments, as reported by the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) had been flatlining for years. Can manufacturers were consolidating, with Ball and Ardagh acquiring Rexam assets in […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices in northern Europe, like in other areas of the world, have begun to decline – although prices in the USA have yet to follow this trend. Still, it appears that this upward trend in the U.S. market is nearing an end. […]
U.S. steel and metals trade associations warned Congressional leaders that the condition of the nation’s infrastructure is “dire.” They urged legislators to support the “historic” and metal-intensive infrastructure bill proposed by the Biden administration. The trade groups—which claim to represent more than 74,000 domestic facilities—pointed out that an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2021 report card gave U.S. […]
We are approaching 550 registered attendees for this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. Activity has been high and we are confident we will reach our 800+ registered attendee goal. Just last week we received registrations from the following companies: Niagara LaSalle Steel, JN Linrose Manufacturing, Atlantic Logistics LLC, Steel Dynamics Inc*., Alliance Steel LLC*, Rock […]
We are approaching 550 registered attendees for this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. Activity has been high and we are confident we will reach our 800+ registered attendee goal. Just last week we received registrations from the following companies: Niagara LaSalle Steel, JN Linrose Manufacturing, Atlantic Logistics LLC, Steel Dynamics Inc*., Alliance Steel LLC*, Rock […]
The energy tubulars market is still waiting for the boom flat-rolled steel prices – the sector’s primary input cost – to flow through to pipe selling prices, according to one industry expert. On the face of it, things look good. Oil prices are improving, the rig count is up dramatically versus a year ago, and […]
A 100-day review, authorized by President Biden, was released this week to address vulnerabilities in critical U.S. supply chains. The report, “Building Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing American Manufacturing, and Fostering Broad-Based Growth,” was prepared by the departments of Commerce, Energy, Defense, and Health and Human Services. The 250-page report included recommendations not only for reducing […]
The U.S. economy recovered from the disappointing showing in April by adding 559,000 new jobs in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported. Although fewer workers were added to the payroll than the 700,000-plus forecasted by economists, the May jobs report was in line with February and March totals. The gains underscore the positive impact of steady […]
The U.S. labor market gained some ground in May following a disappointing performance the month prior. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that employers added 559,000 workers to their payrolls in May, a vast improvement from the measly 266,000 new jobs added in April – but still behind the 770,000 new hires in […]
Infrastructure, Energy, Wind Farms, Tanners, Summit Conference, Imports. If you are watching the news, you are aware of the Biden administration’s push for a large (at least $1 trillion) infrastructure bill. There is a lot of discussion about what infrastructure entails in light of the current economy. It’s not your father’s economy. There is need […]
JSW Steel (USA) and JSW Ohio are accusing Nucor, U.S. Steel and Cleveland Cliffs of conspiring to boycott and deny critical semi-finished steel slab to the company. A lawsuit filed on June 8 alleges that the three steel giants have formed a cartel that has cost JSW millions of dollars in lost profit. According to […]
Shipbuilder Austal USA has been awarded a design contract to build a new ship for the U.S. Navy. The agreement, valued at $3.6 million, is for the functional design and construction of the new 80-meter (252.5 foot) Navajo-class Steel Towing, Salvage and Rescue Ship (T-ATS). This follows recent news of Austral USA’s new steel manufacturing […]
The Dodge Momentum Index soared 9.1% to register 178.0 in May due to a brisk increase in commercial planning activity. The May report marks the seventh consecutive gain for the index. Several large data center, office and warehouse projects entered the planning phase last month resulting in a 13-year high for the commercial component of […]
Construction employment fell for the third time in the past four months, according to an analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Construction employment fell by 20,000 jobs from the downwardly revised April data to a seasonally adjusted employment total of 7,423,000. The total in May remained 225,000 less than in […]
Bull Moose Tube Co. has joined the list of companies planning to set up shop adjacent to Steel Dynamics’ new flat-rolled mill in Sinton, Texas. The tubing manufacturer announced plans to build a plant with an annual capacity of 350,000 tons to produce hollow structural sections (HSS) and sprinkler pipe. The new mill is expected […]
The following article was reprinted with permission from John Burns Real Estate Consulting. True statements can lead to misleading conclusions, especially in a busy world full of sound bites and analysis limited to 280 characters. Thank you to one of our clients for several long exchanges that pushed me to clarify our thinking on numerous […]
The construction sector continues to gain momentum, but the effects of the COVID pandemic linger. Growth remains uneven as most sectors are still struggling to rebound from the doldrums seen last year. Total construction spending during April 2021, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, was $1.524 trillion, up 0.2% from March’s revised estimate of $1.521 trillion, […]
The 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference will be the first major steel conference to be held in person since the pandemic shut down all events across the world. Our conference will begin at 9 a.m. ET with our Pre-Summit Programs on Monday, Aug. 23. The official opening of the conference will be at 1 p.m. ET […]
U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.4% in the first quarter of 2021 on an annualized basis, according to the second estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The second estimate saw no change in overall GDP compared to the advance estimate; however, upward revisions to consumer spending and nonresidential fixed investment were […]
The U.S. economy expanded at a moderate pace from early April to late May as vaccine rates increased and social activity began to normalize, said the Federal Reserve in its latest Beige Book report. Consumers spent more dollars on leisure travel and restaurants, giving a boost to the tourism industry that was among the hardest […]
Steel prices continued to climb higher in May, now the ninth consecutive month prices have increased. Hot rolled steel prices increased an average of $23 per ton each week, reaching $1,590 per ton as of last week when this article was filed. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator has remained unchanged since the August 2020 adjustment […]
Nonresidential construction spending hit a two-year low in April, down for a fifth consecutive month due to supply-chain woes and soaring costs, according to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Extended delivery and production times as well as fast-rising materials prices caused demand to wane across several public and private project categories. “Both public […]
Zekelman Industries plans to build a fully automated warehouse at its Wheatland Tube facility in Warren, Ohio. The highly automated, 83,000-square-foot warehouse is scheduled to begin operating in December 2022. The new warehouse will convey pipe from the production lines of the manufacturing facility into the warehouse storage system. From there, pipe is automatically moved […]