The Architecture Billings Index slipped into negative territory in January with a score of 49.5, down from 55.6 in December. A score above 50 indicates an increase in billings. The new projects inquiry rose to 60.0 from 57.6. “This small decrease in activity, taking into consideration strong readings in project inquiries and new design contracts, […]
Freight shipment by various transportation modes seems to be moving fairly well as February winds down. Seaborne freight is improving and barge traffic is resuming normal operations after the winter. Trucking saw some seasonal slowdown after the holidays and rail traffic was up year over year in recent weeks. The Association of American Railroads welcomed […]
North Star Bluescope Steel reported underlying EBITDA in the first half of FY 2017 of $180.2 million, an increase of 178 percent from 1H FY 2016 . Sales revenue was US$ 598.7 million. The mill operated at 100 percent capacity in the first half and benefited from lower conversion costs, particularly in utilities. Shipments for […]
January service center shipments were exceptional. There are times when we wish we weren’t so hung up on three month moving averages and this is one of them. Daily shipments increased by 29.9 percent from December. Since 2009 on average, January has increased 8.1 percent hence our enthusiasm for the latest data. Carbon steel shipments […]
EUROFER, the European Steel Association, recently released its Economic and Steel Market Outlook report for 2017-2018. The Association is expecting steel demand to continue its recovery in 2017 and 2018 but is concerned about the rise of unfairly traded imports. Apparent steel consumption stabilized in the second half of 2016 after rising 3 percent year […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported sales of $2.06 billion in fourth quarter, up 1.7 percent from fourth quarter 2015 and down 5.7 percent from Q3 2016. Tons sold at 1,365,000 were down 1.1 percent from Q4 2015 and down 5.6 percent from third quarter. Average selling price per ton sold was $1,500, essentially the same […]
Housing starts in January declined by 2.6 percent from the revised December total but were 10.5 percent higher than the January 2016 rate, according to the latest report by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,246,000. Single family […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the January employment data on Friday and introduced five years of revisions. In January the preliminary result for net job creation was 227,000. November was revised down by 40,000 and December revised up by 1,000. Using a three month moving average (3MMA), the result for January was 183,000 up […]
It has been four weeks since the last HARDI galvanized steel conference call. The call provides a forum for the HARDI HVAC wholesalers and other associated HARDI members to discuss trends affecting galvanized steel prices. Over the past four weeks market prices have eased a bit but many of the factors that drive prices are […]
The Associated General Contractors of America caution that rising construction costs, coupled with restrictions on imported construction materials, may drive up prices for infrastructure and residential and nonresidential buildings. A long-term infrastructure funding mechanism will provide more benefit than Buy America policies, says the Association. A press release from AGC follows. Construction Officials Caution That […]
ArcelorMittal NAFTA segment results declined in fourth quarter 2016. Steel shipments decreased by 6.6 percent to 5 million tonnes from third quarter driven by an 8.5 percent decrease in flat volumes due to destocking in the United States. NAFTA sales were down 11.1 percent from the prior quarter to $3.8 billion due to lower average […]
ArcelorMittal said it expects global apparent steel consumption to grow between 0.5 and 1.5 percent in 2017, compared to 1.0 percent growth last year. Underlying demand is expected to pick up in Europe supported by the automotive market, but apparent demand growth in the region is forecast at a modest 0.5-1.5 percent compared to 2 […]
The January Dodge Momentum Index gained 3.9 percent to register at 142.6 from a revised reading of 137.3 in December. The index is a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential buildings in planning and leads nonresidential construction spending for buildings by a full year. The index is considered an indicator of future construction […]
NLMK USA has restarted its #2 hot-dip galvanizing line at the Sharon Coating facility in Pennsylvania in response to increased domestic demand. The #2 line had been idled since 2002 due to weak demand in the U.S. galvanized steel market. The line has a capacity of approximately 226,000 metric tonnes per year (249,118 tons) and […]
Over the next few weeks we will begin rolling out our program and our speakers for this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. I am very excited as the program is coming together very well and I believe this will be our best conference to date. We have taken the suggestions received last year as well […]
Construction employment was at its highest level since 2008 in January, according to data analyzed by the Associated General Contractors of America. The total could be much higher if there were more skilled workers available to hire, said AGC chief economist Ken Simonson. The press release from AGC follows: Construction employment increased by 36,000 jobs […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. This will explain the difference between our view of the present situation which is subjective and our analysis of trends which is based on the latest facts available. Looking back from the […]
December data for Construction Put in Place (CPIP) was released by the Department of Commerce on Wednesday February 1st 2017. We reported last month that $305 billion infrastructure to the bill that Congress passed in December 2015 might be beginning to kick in and this perception was strengthened in the December data. At SMU we […]
February 1, 2017 (Osceola, Arkansas) – Big River Steel today announced that it has established a new production record in terms of tons of steel produced by a SMS group supplied flat-rolled mini mill during the first full month of operation. With over 63,000 tons of hot rolled steel produced in January, Big River Steel’s […]
Nucor Corporation plans to help the new administration bring manufacturing back to America. It is off to a good start by posting solid earnings results for fourth quarter 2016. Nucor announced consolidated net earnings of $159.6 million for fourth quarter 2016 compared to $305.4 million in third quarter and a loss of $187.5 million a […]
December service center daily shipments declined by 13.1 percent from November, a non event because since 2009 on average December has declined by 13.2 percent. Carbon steel shipments decreased by 369,100 tons, the number of shipping days was unchanged at 21, and tons per day (t/d) shipments decreased by 17,600 tons. Inventories at 6,754,200 tons […]
The headline report of GDP growth in Q4 came in at 1.88 percent a decline from 3.53 percent in the third quarter. GDP is measured and reported in chained 2009 dollars and in the first estimate of Q4 was $16.805 trillion. The growth calculation is misleading because it takes the quarter over quarter change and […]
The Keystone XL Pipeline was given approval by the new administration through executive order last Tuesday. Since that time there has been a flurry of speculation on what kind of benefit building the pipeline will provide to the U.S. steel Industry. “We are — and I am — very insistent that if we’re going to […]
Steel Dynamics announced net income of $20 million for fourth quarter 2016. Company net sales totaled $1.9 billion, down from $2.1 billion in third quarter. Operating income decreased to $239.5 million from $338.7 million in the previous quarter. Steel shipments for the quarter totaled 2.2 million; fabrication shipments totaled 131,186 tons. Average selling price for […]
Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United […]
SMU Price Momentum Indicator has been pointing to Higher flat rolled steel prices since late October (12 weeks). Based on our analysis of last week’s steel market trends survey as well as direct contact with buyers today, SMU Price Momentum has not changed and our expectation is for prices to move higher over the next […]
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday giving permission for the Keystone XL oil pipeline project to advance as quickly as possible. While the announcement prompted mixed reaction in the United States, TransCanada said it appreciates the president’s invitation to proceed and will re-submit its application to do so. “KXL creates thousands of […]
Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United […]
As January comes to a close there have been plenty of changes in the U.S. with the new administration taking office and a flurry of cabinet nominations and trade decisions that could affect shipping in the U.S. and globally. Wilbur Ross is slated by the new president to lead the Department of Commerce, Robert Lighthizer […]
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) ended 2016 at a score of 55.9, up from 50.6 in November and growing for the third consecutive month, according to the latest report by the American Institute of Architects. The new projects inquiry index stood at 57.2 in December from 59.5 the previous month. The differing growth pace between […]