The Architecture Billings Index rose modestly in April posting a score of 52.0, indicating a seventh consecutive month of growth and a one point gain from March. New project inquiries, an indicator for future billings, fell to 56.7 from the March score of 58.1, reported the American Institute of Architects. Labor shortages, higher prices for […]
Sales of new homes softened in April after a 4 percent jump in March and a relatively strong first quarter. Sales of new single-family homes dipped 1.5 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662,000, according to Commerce Department data. New home sales still exceeded the year-ago rate by 11.6 percent. The […]
Steel demand has remained surprisingly strong in 2018, even as prices have escalated and trade disputes have made purchasing riskier. But Steel Market Update data suggests that demand may be weakening. SMU canvasses the flat rolled steel market every two weeks. A clear majority (62 percent) of the respondents to the May 14 questionnaire indicated […]
Calstrip Industries announced plans to build a $15 million steel processing plant on the Nucor campus near Blytheville, Ark. The 100,000-square-foot first phase of the facility will be adjacent to Nucor Arkansas’ new specialty cold rolled mill, currently under construction. Calstrip will operate slitting and multi-blank cut-to-length lines at the Arkansas location and will create […]
Michael Barnett has been appointed president and chief operating officer of Grand Steel Products, Inc., Wixom, Mich., transitioning the company leadership from his father Jim Barnett. “It is with great pleasure, excitement and confidence that I announce Michael Barnett has been appointed president and COO of Grand Steel Products, Inc.,” stated company founder Jim Barnett. […]
Housing starts slowed in April, falling 3.6 percent from revised March data to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,287,000. Compared to a year ago, starts increased 10.5 percent, reports the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Most of the April decline was a result of a 12.6 percent plunge in multifamily housing after making […]
Steel prices are way up and likely to move even higher given events on the trade front. But, so far, they have not hurt demand in the HVAC sector, reported members of the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) on Tuesday during the trade association’s monthly steel conference call. John Packard, publisher of Steel […]
Distributors of products for the HVAC sector expect prices for steel, especially galvanized, to drop in the coming weeks or months. Demand remains strong, they report, but they are keeping inventories lean in anticipation of declining prices. “There is a greater likelihood that prices will go down than go up. With the lead times being […]
Carbon steel prices have escalated at a lower rate than aluminum, but higher than plastic and wood. Truck transportation prices are rising faster than rail, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last week, the BLS released its series of producer price indexes (PPIs) for more than 10,000 goods and materials […]
ArcelorMittal NAFTA posted sales of $4.8 billion for the first quarter of 2018, up 10.6 percent sequentially. Steel shipments increased 4.8 percent from the fourth quarter to 5.9 million metric tons driven by higher volume of flat products due to improved market fundamentals. Average selling price increased 3.5 percent for flat products and 9.1 percent […]
The California Energy Commission voted unanimously last week to require solar panels for new homes beginning in 2020. Included in the plan are new single-family homes, condos and apartment buildings up to three stories high. “Homes under the (new) standards will use about 50 percent less energy than those under the previous 2016 standards,” said […]
Construction costs are surging as tariffs drive prices up for a wide range of building materials, said a new analysis of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Firms are facing higher input prices that they are unable to pass along to customers. “Contractors have started to boost the prices they charge, […]
Employment increases in manufacturing and construction are signposts for steel sales activity. 2018 is starting off well. Rising employment and wages are the basis of GDP growth because personal consumption accounts for almost 70 percent of GDP. Steel consumption is related to GDP; therefore, we need to be aware of changes to the employment picture. […]
Construction employment gained 17,000 jobs in April, according to a new analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. In the last 12 months, the industry added 257,000 jobs, an increase of 3.7 percent. Higher pay is attracting former construction workers back into the market, said AGC. The association cautioned, however, that […]
The Dodge Momentum Index, a first report for nonresidential building projects in planning, jumped 6.1 percent in April to 163.0. Commercial and institutional components of the Index both rose 5.3 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively. “Over the last two months, the commercial portion of the Momentum Index has posted the most aggressive growth, fueled by […]
Last week Steel Market Update conducted our early May 2018 flat rolled and plate steel market trends survey. We sent invitations to 640 individuals representing approximately 620 companies mostly located in the United States and Canada. The purpose of our inquiries is to better follow various trends affecting the flat rolled and plate markets. We […]
Total construction spending has expanded for seven straight months, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Department of Commerce data. The growth of total construction on a rolling 12-month basis year over year increased from 2.1 percent in January to 2.2 percent in February to 2.3 percent in March this year. On a rolling […]
Construction employment increased in 245 out of 358 metro areas between March 2017 and March 2018, declined in 67, and stagnated in 46, according to a new analysis of federal employment data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that the new figures come amid questions about how a possible trade war […]
Olympic Steel reported that net sales jumped 12 percent year-over-year to $335 million in first quarter after all three of its operating segments reported double-digit growth. “Accelerating shipments and rising prices throughout the first quarter resulted in our highest operating income in any quarter since 2011,” said Chairman and CEO Michael Siegal. Operating income increased […]
Economic growth is expected to continue in 2018 followed by a mild recession in 2019, says ITR Economics. Concern over looming U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel, as well as retaliatory Chinese tariffs, aligns with the HARDI/ITR quarterly forecast of macroeconomic deceleration in the U.S. economy late in 2018. Steel Market Update is a member […]
Construction spending dropped from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.285 trillion in March, but was still up compared to a year ago, according to an analysis of new Census data by the Associated General Contractors of America. AGC officials blamed the decline on drops in private sector construction as new […]
Key market indicators tracked by Steel Market Update are at an all-time high for April but have shown signs of weakening in the past few months. Data released in April shows that 18 of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 5 negative. The balance is within the historically normal band. Trends took a […]
This is Steel Market Update’s first Key Market Indicators report since April as we have renegotiated some data supply contracts and made a few changes to the content. The report still summarizes 36 data streams that we believe critically describe the state of the steel market and provide forward guidance to steel buyers. Data released […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive-level readers. For more information about upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Key market indicators in December were at an all-time high in the history of Steel Market Update’s analysis, but trends are deteriorating. This report summarizes 36 data streams that we believe critically describe […]
Global steel demand will reach 1,616.1 million tons in 2018, an increase of 1.8 percent over 2017, estimates the World Steel Association in its spring Short Range Outlook. In 2019, WSA forecasts global demand will grow by 0.7 percent to 1,626.7 million tons. “In the next couple of years, the global economic situation is expected […]
Steel Market Update’s scrap sources expect ferrous scrap prices to drop by at least $10-$20 per ton in May, and possibly as much as $30-$40 per ton, as spring weather increases the scrap flows and boosts supply. Adding to the downward pressure on prices, they report, is weakness in the global market. One dealer in […]
Steel Market Update’s scrap sources expect ferrous scrap prices to drop by at least $10-$20 per ton in May, and possibly as much as $30-$40 per ton, as spring weather increases the scrap flows and boosts supply. Adding to the downward pressure on prices, they report, is weakness in the global market. One dealer in […]
ITR Economics continues to expect economic growth in 2018 followed by a mild recession in 2019. Concern over looming tariffs aligns with the HARDI/ITR quarterly forecast of macroeconomic deceleration in the U.S. economy late in 2018. Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI, the Heating, […]
Steel producer Ternium reported shipments of 3.5 million tons in first-quarter 2018, a 3.0 percent increase from the fourth quarter and a 42 percent jump from Q1 2017. Higher steel prices pushed revenue up $45 per ton. Higher shipments were a result of a 160,000-ton increase in Mexico that was offset by a 48,000-ton decrease […]
Big River Steel has signed an option agreement with the Board of Commissioners of the Port of Brownsville to bring a $1.6 billion steel mill and distribution facility to south Texas. The agreement gives Big River Steel the option to lease 800 acres between the Brownsville Ship Channel and State Highway 48. The facility will […]