The Chicago Business Barometer lost 3.6 points in January, registering 50.3 from a revised 53.9 in December. The Barometer was at its lowest level since May 2016, after a strong fourth quarter averaging 54.3, said MNI Indicators. New orders fell by 7.8 points dipping into contraction and dragging down the composite index. Production fell 2.3 […]
Please see the end of this report for an explanation of data sources. The Broad Index value of the US $ is reported several days in arrears by the Federal Reserve, the latest value published was dated January 20th (Figure 1). The dollar had a recent peak of 128.9627 on January 3rd which was the […]
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 […]
Two of America’s steel industry leaders are among a team of 28 business leaders assembled by President Trump to provide ideas on how to promote job growth in the manufacturing sector. US Steel president and CEO Mario Longhi, and John Ferriola, president and CEO of Nucor will be among those consulted by the President for […]
Durable goods orders had an unexpected drop in December, falling 0.4 percent from November. Economists at Wall Street Journal had anticipated a 2.3 percent increase in overall orders. Defense related goods drove most of the decline with a 64 percent decrease in orders for defense aircraft. Orders minus transportation increased 0.5 percent. Core goods, nondefense […]
Please be advised that I will be traveling to Tampa, Florida and will be at the Port of Tampa Steel Conference on Monday and Tuesday of this week. I will return to my office on Wednesday. For those of you who have not been to a steel conference, the Port of Tampa is a good […]
Manufacturers in the Fifth and Tenth Districts were optimistic about future manufacturing growth during the next six months. The Tenth District, under the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, was especially optimistic on future growth. Richmond Fed The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond reported manufacturing activity strengthened in the Fifth District during January. The composite […]
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 […]
Allegheny Technologies Inc. reported fourth quarter sales of $796 million and net income of $10 million. Flat rolled sales increased 13.2 percent year-over-year in Q4 2016 to $18.9 million, but the segment posted an operating loss of $0.8 million, improved from a loss of $120.1 million in Q4 2015. Quarter results were impacted by “weak market […]
SMU sources advised that US Steel Great Lakes had a furnace issue due to a leaking water line and a weld gas explosion. They were down for about a shift and are now back up and working for the time being. I wrote the Price Momentum article this evening to make sure that there was […]
Manufacturing activity continued to improve in the Philadelphia area during January and is expected to continue to do so for the next six months, according to the latest Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The index for current manufacturing index rose from 19.7 in December to 23.6 in January for […]
The steel industry does not seem to be concerned about the transition of power as Donald Trump becomes the 45th President of the United States. There have been a number of cabinet appointees who have testified about the domestic steel industry and the need to “level the playing field” by taking governments, such as China, […]
Wilbur Ross, Trump nominee for Commerce Secretary, talked tariffs on China during Wednesday’s confirmation hearings. The billionaire investor, who was instrumental in turning around ailing steel mills such as LTV Steel in 2002, appears to be a solid supporter of President-elect Trump’s strong-arm approach to trade. “One of the things that we do need very […]
The January Empire State Manufacturing Survey in January declined -1.1 from December to 6.5. The general business index reading was positive for the third consecutive month indicating that business activity continues to expand in New York State. New orders and shipments remained positive but fell by 7.3 and 1.3 points, respectively. Unfilled orders posted a […]
We were asked a question by one of our readers regarding importations of fabricated steel products. They wanted to know how can their company be assured the roll-formed products made from steels covered under the AD/CVD orders are exempt from the scope of the orders. We turned around and asked trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz to […]
The idled US Steel McKeesport Tubular mill in Pennsylvania is coming back to life in 2017. Dura-Bond Industries, a pipe manufacturer and coater headquartered in Export, PA, has leased the mill and plans to restart production after approval and upgrades are made. Jason Norris, president of Dura-Bond, confirmed the purchase of equipment from US Steel […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As Flack Steel’s director of risk management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing Futures articles for […]
Union Corrugating Company, based in Fayette, NC, has been acquired by Industrial Opportunity Partners. The acquisition preserves Union’s current managing team while adding IOP operating Principal Dave Mackin as Chairman. Keith Medick will continue to serve as Union’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “I am personally excited to work with Union’s management team and employees […]
AK Steel and NLMK USA raised flat rolled steel prices by $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) on all new spot sales of flat rolled steels (hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized). At the same time, SMU understands that Steel Dynamics has opened their order books for February and are quoting prices that are approximately $40 per ton […]
Commercial Metals Company announced net sales of $1.1 billion for earnings of $7.2 million for first quarter 2017, ending Nov. 30, 2016. Metal margins in the Americas Mills segment took a hit of 17 percent in Q1 due to lower selling prices resulting from continued import pressure, scrap price volatility and market uncertainty. Average selling price […]
Another major automaker says it will invest in U.S. facilities and add jobs to the industry. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US said on Sunday that it will invest $1 billion at plants in Michigan and Ohio to produce new Jeep vehicles in a plan that was originated long before the presidential election. The investment is the […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics employment reports, both national and regional, are fundamental to our understanding of where the various steel consuming sectors are headed. In this analysis we are examining multiple data sources to try to develop a broad base of understanding. This data complements other more specific information on construction and manufacturing activities […]
As expected, the domestic steel mills began 2017 right where they left off. Another $30-$40 per ton of price increases on top of the $140 per ton of increases leveled on their spot customers since late October through the end of 2016. The key from here is if business, both at the steel mills, as […]
The steel buyers and sellers of steel who responded to our first flat rolled steel market trends survey of the New Year foretold the move by AK Steel to raise flat rolled steel prices late on Friday. Eighty-one percent of the respondents reported that they were expecting another flat rolled steel price increase (the 5th […]
Shipping wound down for 2016 with mixed reports. Seaborne rates hit bottom and began an upward climb. U.S. river traffic was sluggish due to holidays and weather. U.S. rail volume, down overall for 2016, picked up in the final week of December. U.S. truck rates increased and shipping volume surged due to holiday delivery and […]
On a single data basis both our Current Steel Buyers Sentiment Index and Future Sentiment Index are at the record highs for our index. Current Sentiment, which is how buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful in the existing market environment, came in at +71 this week. […]
Global manufacturing reached a three year high in December, finishing out the year with the JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI at 52.7, up from 52.1 in November. After a flat first half, the second half of 2016 showed steady growth in the manufacturing sector. The December survey by IHS Markit indicates global manufacturing is growing at […]