Steel buyers sentiment, as measured by Steel Market Update, has moved up and down within a small, three-point range since the beginning of the year. Both Current and Future Sentiment registered a very slight uptick in the past few weeks and remain in optimistic territory well above the average of +47 to +51 in 2019. […]
The construction industry’s unemployment rate hit a new February low of 5.5 percent, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Construction employment increased by 42,000 jobs in February and by 223,000, or 3.0 percent, over the past 12 months. AGC officials said some of the gains were […]
Nonresidential construction planning slowed in February, according to the latest report from Dodge Data & Analytics. The Dodge Momentum Index moved 1.8 percent lower to 148.7 from the revised January reading of 151.4. The Momentum Index is a monthly measure of initial reports for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead […]
Sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market fell by $5-9 /s.ton, w/w with HR coil losing the most, assessed at $560 /s.ton. These prices reflect transactions from last week, which were primarily conducted ahead of recently announced mill price increases. While prices fell, the overall volume component fell at a faster rate. Until the price […]
The coronavirus has begun to affect business in the United States, according to the latest Federal Reserve “Beige Book.” The economy is moving forward at a modest to moderate pace, but growth is uneven. The virus appears to be negatively impacting travel and tourism in the U.S., which showed only moderate to flat growth in […]
Steel Dynamics has agreed to acquire 100 percent of the equity interest of ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal recycler Zimmer, S.A. de C.V. The Monterrey, Mexico, operations will support raw material procurement for Steel Dynamics’ new Texas flat rolled mill. Zimmer operations consist of six scrap processing facilities located near scrap-rich industrial areas in Central […]
Construction spending increased 1.8 percent to $1.369 trillion in January, according to a new analysis of federal data by the Associated General Contractors of America. “Public spending on infrastructure, along with single-family housing, was exceptionally robust in January,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “While overall economic conditions remain favorable, future construction spending levels […]
A new steel plant is slated for Canonsburg, Pa. Ameri-Precision Metals Inc. has begun construction on a 250,000-square-foot facility to produce cold-rolled and heat-treated carbon steel strips. Ameri-Precision is leasing the location from Pennsylvania Transformer. The facility should be running by April or May with phase 1 production beginning in July. The site of the […]
Gauging how COVID-19 will impact global commerce, specifically the world’s steel industry, is almost as difficult to predict as the spread of the virus itself. CRU analysts will tackle the subject in a new webinar this week. As CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg reports, the news is not all bad. For one, the pace of […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: As a participant of long standing in the saga of international trade cases, I can say that this week was particularly interesting. First, the U.S. International Trade Commission did something unusual—last Tuesday, it made a final negative determination […]
John Packard is traveling… The mills announced another $40 increase in flat rolled prices this week in the hopes of reversing the recent downturn in steel prices. Instead of an increase, ArcelorMittal released minimum base prices of $620 for hot rolled and $820 for cold rolled and coated. Steel Market Update puts the current benchmark […]
The U.S. International Trade Commission rejected antidumping and countervailing duties for fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico. The USITC found that the U.S. industry is not materially injured or threatened by imports of the products from the three countries after a Commerce investigation determined that China and Mexico were subsidizing the products and […]
Canadian pipe and tube company Nova Steel is returning to the U.S. with a $70 million investment in Delta, Ohio. Nova plans to construct two new tube mills in northwest Ohio in proximity to North Star BlueScope. The 250,000-square-foot facility will produce hollow structural sections and standard pipe. “We are very excited to be back […]
Key Market Indicators show that the improvement in market trends in December and January translated to a jump in the present situation in February. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data on which we have reported in detail during the month. In it we summarize 36 data streams that describe […]
Written by: John Packard, President & CEO, Steel Market Update Steel prices in general appear to have weakened further for the fifth week, based on Steel Market Update’s canvass of the market over the past two days. Hindsight being 20/20, SMU arguably could have adjusted its Price Momentum Indicator from Neutral to Lower earlier than […]
By Senior Coal Analyst Ben Carstein, from CRU’s Metallurgical Coal Market Outlook Despite weakening fundamentals in the Chinese steel market, the seaborne metallurgical coal market, and hence prices, remain supported. Chinese HRC and rebar prices are up about RMB90 /t over the week. However, we believe this largely reflects trader purchases that have not been […]
Heavy equipment manufacturer John Deere sees early signs of improvement in the U.S. agriculture sector, following the passage of USMCA and the Phase 1 trade agreement with China. “U.S. farm cash receipts are expected to increase in 2020, aided in part by the recently announced third tranche of market facilitation payments, which totaled $3.6 billion, […]
Steel buyers sentiment, as measured by Steel Market Update, has remained relatively steady at a fairly optimistic level since the beginning of the year. But both Current and Future Sentiment have registered a very slight decline in the past few weeks. SMU’s Current Sentiment Index registered +56 this week, down from +63 at this time […]
Architecture firms reported an increase in business in January. The American Institute of Architects’ Architecture Billings Index rose to 52.2 last month, compared to a revised score of 52.1 in December. New project inquiries and new design contracts for nonresidential construction posted scores of 57.9 and 56.0, respectively. “Despite the continued presence of volatility in […]
The following article discussing the global ferrous derivatives markets was written by David Feldstein. As an independent steel market analyst, advisor and trader, we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Note that Steel Market Update does not take any positions on HRC or scrap trading, and any recommendations or comments […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum announced a slew of records for its performance in 2019 and an increase in net income for the fourth quarter of 2019. “We challenged ourselves to drive continuous improvements in our business in 2019 and we are extremely pleased with the outcome of our performance,” said President and CEO Jim Hoffman. […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco Holdings cited challenging market conditions and an “unprecedented” drop in steel prices for its fourth-quarter loss. Stelco reported a net loss of $27 million for the quarter on sales of $435 million, down from $648 millon in the prior-year quarter, due to lower steel prices and shipping volumes. Full year net […]
Housing starts slowed in January but remained at a solid pace, while building permits surged to a 13-year high. January starts were down 3.6 percent from December to an adjusted annual rate of 1,567,000, but were 21.4 percent higher than a year ago. Construction starts for single-family homes fell 5.9 percent compared to December. Multi-family […]
Writing with CRU’s Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen are Principal Consultant for Aluminum Wan Ling, Senior Analyst Richard Lu, Analyst Ruilin Wang and China office CEO John Johnson. Last week, CRU’s China offices in Shanghai and Beijing returned to work following the Chinese New Year holiday, which was extended due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus (Covid-19). This virus has had a heavy […]
By Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Material Monitor Iron ore prices rebounded in the past week as arrivals of seaborne iron ore to China were at their weakest level in over six months. Port stocks in China fell w/w and talks about further stimulus and a drop in the number of new Covid-19 […]
In three months through December, demand for total rolled products declined by 6.1 percent. This Premium analysis by Steel Market Update is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import-export data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). It is meant as a more in-depth look compared […]
Today, we are rolling out more of our agenda for the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference. For more information and to register, visit: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel-Summit. STEEL: DEALING WITH THE VELOCITY OF CHANGE AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS Monday, August 24, 2020 10:00 – 5:30 Conference RegistrationGeorgia International Convention Center- South Lobby 10:00 – 10:50 CME Hedging Workshop 11:10 – […]
Today, we are rolling out more of our agenda for the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference. For more information and to register, visit: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel-Summit. STEEL: DEALING WITH THE VELOCITY OF CHANGE AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS Monday, August 24, 2020 10:00 – 5:30 Conference RegistrationGeorgia International Convention Center- South Lobby 10:00 – 10:50 CME Hedging Workshop 11:10 – […]
Written by Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley. More in-depth regional analysis found in CRU’s Metallics Monitor. The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) fell by 8.9 percent m/m to 203.7 (see chart) following price falls in nearly every market. Supply outpaced demand due to mild winter conditions in much of the northern hemisphere. Key exceptions were Russian scrap and ore-based […]
Russel Metals has remained profitable despite wild swings in steel prices caused by U.S. tariffs, coupled with weak energy prices and declining rig counts. The Canadian distributor reported net income of $77 million on revenues of $3.7 billion in full-year 2019. Results were down significantly from the prior year when the company saw a profit […]