Olympic Steel CEO Rick Marabito is very bullish on the metals market, comparing the industry to a baseball game that’s just getting started: “I think we are in the first couple of innings of a really good market and cycle,” he said during Wednesday’s SMU Community Chat. Despite material shortages and supply disruptions, manufacturing is […]
Ray Napolitan, Jr., Executive Vice President of Engineered Bar Products and Digital at Nucor, plans to retire on June 5, 2021, after 25 years of service with the company. Napolitan joined Nucor in 1996 as Engineering Manager of Nucor Building Systems-Indiana. He became Operations Manager of Nucor Building Systems-Texas in 1999 and was promoted to […]
The U.S. trucking industry is straining to keep up with demand as imports and retail shipping vie with construction and manufacturing for limited truck capacity. Imports fell as the coronavirus took hold last March, but surged to 2.1 million TEU (20-foot equivalent units) in August 2020 as global economies reopened. The August record was subsequently […]
The U.S. trucking industry is straining to keep up with demand as imports and retail shipping vie with construction and manufacturing for limited truck capacity. Imports fell as the coronavirus took hold last March, but surged to 2.1 million TEU (20-foot equivalent units) in August 2020 as global economies reopened. The August record was subsequently […]
The U.S. economy added 916,000 jobs in March, posting increases for a second consecutive month and pushing well ahead of early estimates, reported the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Gains were strongest in leisure and hospitality, while construction jumped by 126,000. Following a depressing close to 2020 and a loss of 447,000 jobs in January, total […]
The U.S. labor market saw a strong surge in employment to closed out the first quarter. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that employers added 916,000 to their payrolls in March, more than doubling the 379,000 jobs added in February. Following a dismal close to 2020 and a slow start in January, total […]
Zekelman Industries has completed the exterior construction of its new rolling mill in Blytheville, Ark. The 515,000-square-foot facility, located next to Zekelman’s Atlas Tube, will be the largest continuous electric resistance welding (ERW) mill in the world and is expected to be operational by September 2021. The mill will be able to roll HSS from […]
Producer prices continue to register solid monthly increases from the losses suffered during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The composite Producer Price Index (PPI) of all commodities from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed an increase of 2.1% in February versus the prior month, and a 6.0% increase year on year, seasonally adjusted. […]
Producer prices continue to rebound from the losses suffered during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Since the decreases in March and April of 2020, the composite Producer Price Index (PPI) of all commodities from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has seen consistent month-on-month increases. March’s index registered a 3.7% increase versus the prior […]
Schnitzer Steel tripled its net income from first to second quarter FY 2021 to $46 million, supported by robust revenues of $600 million. Strong demand for recycled metals, higher finished steel prices and elevated scrap pricing resulted in expanded metal spreads and operating margins. Net income per ferrous ton increased to $47 from $14 per […]
Construction employment decreased in 236 metro areas in the 12 months between February 2020 and February 2021, reported the Associated General Contractors of America in an analysis of new government data. “Relatively few places have recovered from the pandemic-induced impacts on the construction industry,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Project cancellations, spiking materials […]
The Dodge Momentum Index reached its highest reading since summer 2018, gaining 1.7% for a score of 151.4. The March Index was boosted by an increase of institutional construction projects entering the planning stage. Compared to March 2020, the index jumped 11%. The range of new projects broadened in the institutional sector with healthcare and […]
U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, Pa., has been hit by an unplanned outage stemming from a burst water main, according to sources familiar with the matter. Crews have been working to repair the issue at the Pittsburgh-area steel mill since approximately 2:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, April 6, they said. U.S. Steel, which is […]
U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, Pa., has been hit by an unplanned outage stemming from a burst water main, according to sources familiar with the matter. Crews have been working to repair the issue at the Pittsburgh-area steel mill since approximately 2:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, April 6, they said. U.S. Steel, which is […]
Looking for a Top… Looking for Steel…. As we conduct our analysis of the flat rolled and plate steel prices this week, we cannot help but notice the pace of increases has slowed…or is the slowing due to many mill order books being closed and having nothing new to offer. The availability of spot tonnage […]
Looking for a Top… Looking for Steel…. As we conduct our analysis of the flat rolled and plate steel prices this week, we cannot help but notice the pace of increases has slowed…or is the slowing due to many mill order books being closed and having nothing new to offer. The availability of spot tonnage […]
For the seventh consecutive month, steel prices rose throughout March, fueled by a continuation of strong demand and limited supply. Hot rolled steel prices averaged $1,300 per ton by the middle of the month, far exceeding any historical price record, and reached $1,330 by the last week of March. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator has […]
Construction industry employment rebounded in March, climbing by 110,000 workers from a plunge of 56,000 in February, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data. “The rebound in March is certainly good news, but contractors face growing challenges that imperil further growth in nonresidential employment,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s […]
Total construction expenditures edged down in February to $1.52 trillion, down 0.8% from January’s revised estimate of $1.53 trillion, reported the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite the slight dip month on month, total construction was up 5.3% compared to a year ago when spending totaled $1.44 trillion. Year-to-date construction spending amounted to $2.13 trillion, 4.9% above the $2.03 […]
Construction spending dipped 0.8 percent in February hampered by unseasonable weather and fewer new projects, said the Associated General Contractors of America in an analysis of new government data. Contractors reported rising costs and longer delivery times that threaten project completion and financial health. Construction spending totaled $1.52 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate […]
The Biden administration’s ambitious American Jobs Plan, which calls for an historic investment in the nation’s infrastructure, offers enormous promise for the U.S. economy and steel demand, but it faces pushback on several fronts. President Biden addressed the nation from Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon to pitch his vision for an eight-year, $2-trillion infrastructure spending plan that […]
Business conditions in the construction industry are split along the residential/nonresidential line, said Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Association of General Contractors of America, who spoke during Wednesday’s SMU Community Chat Webinar. Employment levels in the industry plunged last year at a similar rate between the two segments as the pandemic took hold in March […]
Southern steel producers and distributors will have a new customer in 2022. Shipbuilder Austal USA, located in Mobile, Ala., broke ground last week on a steel manufacturing line to build steel ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. Austal USA is known for its construction of aluminum vessels, delivering 24 ships to the Navy […]
Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America, will be the featured speaker during tomorrow’s SMU Community Chat beginning at 11 a.m. ET. Simonson will speak to the status of the residential, commercial and industrial construction markets and forecasts for construction in the coming months. He will also cover the most recent Data DIGest from […]
Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America, will be the featured speaker at the next SMU Community Chat beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, March 31. Simonson will speak to the status of the residential, commercial and industrial construction markets and forecasts for construction in the coming months. He will also cover […]
Ken Simonson, chief economist at the Associated General Contractors of America, will be the featured speaker at the next SMU Community Chat beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, March 31. Simonson will speak to the status of the residential, commercial and industrial construction markets and forecasts for construction in the coming months. He will also cover […]
Sky-high prices not just for steel, but for construction materials of all kinds, are threatening the prospects for construction demand. And federal infrastructure spending proposed by the Biden administration could carry an even heftier price tag for taxpayers. The Associated General Contractors of America reports that the construction industry is experiencing an unprecedented mix of […]
Nucor plans to build a new tube mill at Nucor Steel Gallatin in Kentucky. The tube mill will have the capacity to produce approximately 250,000 tons of hollow structural section (HSS) steel tubing, mechanical steel tubing and galvanized solar torque tube. The mill will be advantageously near to growing solar markets and the largest consuming […]
Worthington Industries completed a successful third quarter in FY 2021, shed underperforming businesses, and now looks forward to accelerating strategic growth initiatives. “Our fiscal third quarter was a record financial performance,” said CEO Andy Rose. “We faced some lingering operational challenges including steel supply shortages, staffing issues related to COVID quarantines and some extreme weather, […]
I want to write a few words today about Section 232. Not for or against it. Just some reflections on a trade action that’s been with us for a lot longer than I expected. The catalyst for that reflection was a conference call the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington policy think tank, held earlier this […]