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 […]
U.S. Steel and Tenaris will adjust production of tubular products in the U.S. due to low oil prices and declining demand in the oil industry. U.S. Steel plans to idle tubular operations in Texas and Ohio, affecting 850 employees. “U.S. Steel advised employees that Lone Star Tubular Operations in Lone Star, Texas, and Lorain Tubular Operations in […]
By CRU Research Manager Paul Butterworth, from CRU’s Steel Monitor CRU has massively downgraded forecast GDP growth in China to 1-2 percent for 2020 and we now expect the USA and Eurozone to fall into recession. Global GDP growth is now expected to be 1 percent for the year, an effective global recession. While economic […]
The coronavirus pandemic has caused more than one out of four contractors to halt or delay work on current projects, according to a new survey by the Associated General Contractors of America. As an industry, construction is the biggest consumer of steel worldwide. The survey results show how quickly market conditions have changed. AGC data […]
Sales of new homes in February rose 4.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 765,000, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Compared to February 2019, sales jumped 14 percent. “New home sales were solid in February before challenges associated with the coronavirus set […]
Editor’s note: Various states, counties and cities have issued some form of “shelter-in-place” or “stay-at-home” orders including California, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Ohio, Connecticut and Illinois, as well as cities such as St. Louis, Kansas City, New Orleans and some counties in Colorado, Georgia and Idaho, among others. The list grows by the […]
Cleveland-Cliffs has temporarily shut down construction activity at its hot-briquetted iron (HBI) site in Toledo, Ohio, due to the COVID-19 virus. All construction at the site will cease at the end of the business day on March 20 until further notice. Cleveland-Cliffs’ iron ore mining and steelmaking facilities will continue operations. The Toledo plant is […]
Commercial Metals Company reported a strong second quarter for fiscal year 2020 ending Feb. 29. The Americas Mills segment achieved record second-quarter shipment levels while the International Mill had the highest shipment level for second quarter in 12 years. Earnings for the quarter were $63.6 million on net sales of $1.3 billion. Gross margins jumped […]
U.S. Steel’s performance in the first quarter of 2020 was better than expected with adjusted EBITDA projected at $30 million. “Our Flat-rolled segment results are expected to be better than anticipated as strong operating performance across our footprint, continued cost improvement, and seasonally strong shipment volumes more than offset the typical seasonality of mining,” said […]
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses in Pennsylvania to close their physical locations as of 8 p.m. Friday, March 19, to slow the spread of COVID-19. Life sustaining businesses include grocery stores, gas stations, farms and transit systems. Due to the high volume of waiver requests, enforcement actions against businesses that do not […]
John Packard is taking some time off… As we all hunker down (wondering if that’s the hint of a sore throat when we swallow), it’s easy to feel the walls closing in. The intellectual part of us knows the economy will return to normal eventually (indeed, there’s money to be made when the market comes […]
Coronavirus fears have taken a major toll on how steel executives view their prospects for success. Steel Buyers Sentiment, as measured by Steel Market Update, suffered the sharpest one-week decline in the index’s 11-year history. Sentiment plunged by 45 points, from a Current Sentiment reading of +58 down to +13, and a Future Sentiment reading […]
Coronavirus fears have taken a major toll on how steel executives view their prospects for success. Steel Buyers Sentiment, as measured by Steel Market Update, suffered the sharpest one-week decline in the index’s 11-year history. Sentiment plunged by 45 points, from a Current Sentiment reading of +58 down to +13, and a Future Sentiment reading […]
Today, Steel Market Update had conversations with manufacturing companies across the United States. We found businesses reporting strong demand, plants are still open, office workers tend to be working from home and factory workers are being trained on social distancing as well as personal/equipment hygiene. Most of those we contacted either on the phone or […]
Today, Steel Market Update had conversations with manufacturing companies across the United States. We found businesses reporting strong demand, plants are still open, office workers tend to be working from home and factory workers are being trained on social distancing as well as personal/equipment hygiene. Most of those we contacted either on the phone or […]
Steel mills in the U.S. are taking precautions to reduce risks to workers and operations from the coronavirus pandemic as production continues. Social distancing and proper hygiene/sanitation is encouraged, non-essential business travel is cancelled, air travel is banned and those personnel who can perform their jobs remotely are allowed to do so. Visitors are limited […]
Steel Dynamics and Nucor are both expecting improved earnings for the first quarter of 2020 due to higher steel prices and increased shipments. So far, the impact from the COVID-19 outbreak has been minimal on supply chains and operations, said the companies. Disruptions are expected, however, as more manufacturers temporarily suspend production and construction activity […]
Housing starts dipped 1.5 percent from January to February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,599,000, but were 39.2 percent higher than a year ago, according to a report from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Commerce Department. Single-family housing starts jumped 6.7 percent in February to 1,072,000 while starts for housing with […]
Distributors supplying galvanized steel to the HVAC market report that demand and prices have remained surprisingly resilient so far, but they fear it’s only a matter of time before their business feels the full effect of the coronavirus crisis. “Your business is going to change. We are in the very early part of that change,” […]
By CRU Research Manager Paul Butterworth, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service Activity in steel end-use sectors in China is recovering as per CRU’s base case, but evidence suggests that demand may start to run ahead of our base case in the near term. Encouraged by government stimulus measures, there is a lot of optimism […]
Construction employment numbers increased in January, but the Associated General Contractors of America says the coronavirus is likely to significantly affect employment beginning in March. “There is no doubt the coronavirus will have a significant impact on our economy, including the construction sector,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “That is why […]
We had to change the way we calculate the adjusted data, which will also change how we derive our analysis. Previously, we adjusted the data to mirror the exact mix of service centers that responded to the previous month’s survey. We saw a decrease in participation in the March survey, which we can understand given […]
In the last 12 months, the price declines of cold rolled carbon steel and aluminum sheet have been similar. This report is an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data and is intended to provide subscribers with a view of the competitive position of sheet steel, aluminum, plastic and wood. The analysis includes some downstream […]
In the last 12 months the competitive position of steel sheet has improved against aluminum, plastic and wood. This report is an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data and is intended to provide subscribers with a view of where sheet steel stands in terms of pricing compared with aluminum, plastic and wood. The analysis […]
Demand for long products declined by 3.5 percent in the three months through January, but rebar was up by 9.6 percent. This analysis 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 summarizes total steel supply by product […]
The world is changing, it is not ending. I expect the steel industry will go through some changes as well. In Europe, the car makers are closing manufacturing facilities. Europe seems to be a couple weeks ahead of us here in the United States. Will we see the same plant closures in a couple of […]
Steel prices are as unpredictable as the spread of a rogue virus, but one symptom of COVID-19 is likely to be lower steel prices. As of this writing on March 13, the price of flat rolled steel products had yet to see much effect from the global panic over the coronavirus. Steel Market Update’s latest […]
By CRU Analyst Arshiya Sibia and Research Manager Paul Butterworth, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Current information from our China team shows that steel demand is closely tracking our base case forecast for the impact of Covid-19, though steel production remains slightly higher than we had forecast. While our forecast was for steel demand to return […]