While other iron ore mining operations are temporarily shutting down due to the impact of the coronavirus on iron ore demand, Prairie River Minerals plans to start construction this month on a multimillion dollar ore processing plant in Minnesota. Prairie River bought the assets of bankrupt Magnetation in Coleraine and Keewatin for $1.9 million in […]
2020 is NOT 2008 all over again… I vividly remember 2008 and what happened to the steel industry beginning in September of that year. Why? Because Steel Market Update began as a company in August 2008 and I was scrambling to get members, while at the same time reporting on the destruction of demand and […]
AGC, April 10, 2020: With the covid-19 pandemic worsening by the week, an ever-increasing share of contractors are reporting cancellations of upcoming projects and shortages of equipment or materials, forcing nearly 40 percent of firms to lay off employees, according to an online survey released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) will be updated following the conclusion of trade in the U.S. However, we expect the indicator to move substantially lower following price decreases across every market we track. Metallics prices in nearly every market came under substantial pressure in […]
President Trump’s move to greatly ease automotive emissions targets may impact the environment, for better or worse, but likely not steel suppliers to the auto industry. The Trump administration has finalized its Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026, following through on the president’s promise to reverse the Obama-era rules that he […]
BlueScope Steel says it will delay the North Star BlueScope expansion under way in Ohio for six months to minimize cash expenses as part of its strategy to maintain financial health during the COVID-19 crisis. The full scope of the project will resume when conditions improve. BlueScope Managing Director and CEO Mark Vassella said, “We […]
Tubular steel producer Vallourec said Monday that it will lay off more than 900 employees at its U.S. plants due to a significant drop in activity by its oil and gas customers. The layoffs will be implemented in the coming weeks across all plants and support functions and impact over one-third of Vallourec’s workforce and contractor […]
Layoffs are rapidly increasing at construction firms, says a new survey by the Associated General Contractors of America. Twenty-seven percent of firms surveyed by AGC this week reported layoffs as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, contrasting with government data for March showing construction employment declining by 29,000 as of mid-month. “The March employment data […]
Steel Market Update’s monthly analysis of Key Market Indicators has done a good job of anticipating the ups and downs of the steel market in the past, but the economic data currently available seriously lags the impact of the coronavirus on the economy. Only 3 of 36 indicators in this month’s report have even begun […]
The employment situation in the U.S. is a disaster. The current economic situation is so extraordinarily dire that historical data and trend analysis is almost irrelevant except to illustrate the severity of the situation we are all experiencing. Net job creation in March was negative 701,000 and January was revised down by 59,000, according to […]
We’re all saturated with news of the employment disaster caused by the coronavirus, but to look at the long-term picture graphically is still shocking. Figure 1 shows the three-month moving average (3MMA) of the number of jobs created or lost through April since 2005 as the brown bars and the total number employed as the […]
The U.S. lost a net 701,000 jobs in March as the economy struggled with the coronavirus, and the labor situation is expected to be much worse in April. The brunt of March’s employment decline was felt by service industries. In the coming months, manufacturing and construction jobs will suffer more as well. Table 1 breaks […]
More than 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs in April, including 18.1 million in service industries and 2.4 million in goods-producing industries such as manufacturing and construction, according to data just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The latest job losses came on top of 870,000 lost in March, following a gain of 230,000 […]
Schnitzer Steel Industries, a metals recycler and long products producer, posted revenue of $439 million for the second quarter of FY 2020. Net income was $4.5 million for the quarter, improving from a $7 million loss in Q1 but down significantly from income of $13 million in Q2 2019. Autos and Metals Recycling achieved operating […]
The Dodge Momentum Index slipped slightly in March, retreating 0.6 percent to a reading of 146.5. The momentum index is a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year. In March, the commercial component of the […]
Steel Buyers Sentiment—how steel executives view their prospects for success—has continued to deteriorate as the market struggles with the coronavirus restrictions. Current sentiment dipped into pessimistic territory to a reading of -8 this week, the lowest level since November 2010. It is also the first time we have entered the pessimistic portion of our index […]
Infrastructure is finally getting some attention again, despite and because of the cornavirus. Congress and the White House are calling for an infrastructure bill to be included in the fourth COVID-19 relief package. “With interest rates for the United States being at ZERO, this is the time to do our decades long awaited Infrastructure Bill,” Trump […]
Today we took our Price Momentum Indicator on flat rolled steel to Lower from Neutral. We are clearly seeing an erosion in pricing, which is expected to continue over the near term. The economy is heading into recession. Key indicators are pointing toward a slowdown in construction as states and local municipalities mandate construction projects […]
Today we took our Price Momentum Indicator on flat rolled steel to Lower from Neutral. We are clearly seeing an erosion in pricing, which is expected to continue over the near term. The economy is heading into recession. Key indicators are pointing toward a slowdown in construction as states and local municipalities mandate construction projects […]
Business remains surprisingly strong for wholesalers who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC sector, considering the devastating impact of the coronavirus on the economy. In a conference call this morning, members of the Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) said the construction industry has dodged the worst of the virus’ effects so […]
Wholesalers in different parts of the country tell a different story about how the coronavirus restrictions are impacting their businesses. In one sense, the virus is picking winners and losers by geography. In a conference call this morning, members of the Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International compared notes on their experiences in dealing […]
Architecture firms reported fewer new design projects in March as uncertainty grows regarding the length and impact of the coronavirus crisis. A special mid-month survey by the American Institute of Architects found that 28 percent of respondents reported directed delays in current projects or those slated to start in 30 days. An additional 11 percent […]
We are in uncharted waters. The key is not to panic. Learn to separate fact from rumor. I repeat, learn to separate fact from the rumors that tend to envelope this industry. For example: The “rumor” is the domestic steel mills are getting huge order cancellations. Is that a fact or is it conjecture based […]
U.S. Steel announced on Friday a series of aggressive actions to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus and significant demand changes in the oil and gas industry. Flat-rolled: Gary Works—U.S. Steel will idle the #4 blast furnace at Gary Works immediately, moving up a 48-day outage originally planned for April. The scope of the planned […]
Service centers polled by Steel Market Update this week reported layoffs and sales declines expected to range from 30-70 percent. Steel orders are being canceled or delayed at most companies as steps to fight the coronavirus take a toll on regional economies across the country. Following are some executives’ comments: “We have not had customers […]
Worthington Industries reported net sales of $764.0 million and net earnings of $15.3 million for its fiscal 2020 third quarter, ending Feb. 29, 2020. Sales were down 13 percent from the prior year due to lower average selling prices in Steel Processing and lower volumes in Pressure Cylinders. Steel Processing net sales were down 12 […]
Thirty-nine percent of contractors report that project owners have halted or canceled current construction projects amid deteriorating economic conditions, according to a survey by the Associated General Contractors of America. The project cancellations are particularly severe in light of new data showing that 42 states added construction jobs through February. “The abrupt plunge in economic […]
John Packard is taking some time off… By most readings of the government guidelines, steel is considered an “essential” industry during this virus crisis. Mills that produce steel products, and by extension service centers that distribute them, are critical to getting the economy back on track. For some steel-consuming sectors, however, their “essentialness” may be […]
A battle is brewing among legislators, manufacturers and steel producers regarding whether tariff measures should be suspended on imports under Section 301 and Section 232 during the coronavirus crisis. Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee urged President Trump to ease tariff restrictions during the pandemic. In a letter on March 25, the committee exhorted […]
Steel prices saw further declines this week, but not a dramatic collapse. The benchmark price of hot rolled now averages around $560 per ton, down $5 from last week and down $50 from the mid-January high of $610. Most of the steel buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week expect […]