The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index has been showing signs of a rebound as our Current Index is being released as +63 this week. This is a +2 point improvement from the middle of August and +5 point improvement since the beginning of August. However, SMU prefers to look at our Current and Future Sentiment […]
Global manufacturing continued to grow in August although falling from an eight-month high of 51.0 in July to 50.8 in August. Growth was sluggish in developed markets but improved in emerging markets. Of the 28 countries surveyed in the JP Morgan Global PMI, only nine reported worsening conditions in August. Manufacturers in China reported no […]
Mark Bula, the Commercial Director for Big River Steel made it official at our 6th Steel Summit Conference proclaiming Big River Steel as “open for business.” Bula, who was speaking on a panel on Innovation and the future of the steel industry, reported that the mill will begin producing their first hot rolled coil for […]
Manufacturing contracted in August after five consecutive months of growth, according to the latest Manufacturing Report on Business from the Institute of Supply Management. ISM reported the August PMI at 49.4, down 3.2 points from July at 52.6 percent. It was the first time the index has slipped since February of this year. New orders […]
Business activity fell in the Chicago area in August. The MNI Chicago Business Barometer, or Chicago PMI as commonly called, dropped 4.3 points to register 51.5. The decline was steeper than expected by economists. “Economic activity slowed down into the summer, suggesting June’s momentum was only a temporary revival in activity. Overall, it wasn’t a […]
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. At the end of […]
Lewis Leibowitz opened the 6th Steel Summit in Atlanta, GA with a recap of what is happening in the trade regulation of steel imports. In a quick poll preceding the presentation, the audience by a 53 percent to 47 percent vote said they were in favor of dumping suits. An overwhelming 97 percent said they […]
Durable goods orders gained 4.4 percent in July following two months of declines, according to the latest report by the Commerce Department. The rebound was led by a surge in commercial aircraft orders which soared 90 percent after a 50 percent tumble in June. Nearly all categories comprising the new orders index showed increases in […]
Manufacturing activity in the Fifth District was weaker in August according to the most recent survey by The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The composite manufacturing index for August plummeted to -11 after July’s reading of +10. Shipments fell sharply losing 21 points for an index reading of -14, while the new orders index plunged […]
Economic growth increased for a second consecutive month in July according to the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI). The index is a gauge of economic activity and inflation and is expressed by three separate index values: the CFNAI and two 3-month moving average indexes, the CFNAI-MA3 and CFNAI Diffusion Index. The 3-month averages help […]
Last week Steel Market Update conducted our mid-August flat rolled steel market trends analysis. For those new to our newsletter, we invite approximately 600 people representing about 550 companies to participate in our bi-monthly questionnaire. Our normal response rate is 100 to 150 people. Last week’s mix was 44 percent service centers, 43 percent manufacturing […]
SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index Twice per month, Steel Market Update surveys the flat rolled steel industry. One of the proprietary products which is derived from that expansive survey is the SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index. Sentiment is defined as how buyers and sellers feel about their company’s ability to be successful both in the […]
On Wednesday of this week HARDI hosted their monthly steel conference call. Steel Market Update participates in these calls which are dedicated to a better understanding of the galvanized steel market. The participants are wholesalers, service centers and manufacturing companies who either buy or sell galvanized sheet products used in the HVAC industry. SMU advised […]
We are 10 days away from the start of our Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta. This will be our 6th conference and it will be the best attended conference by a wide margin. When we began the planning process my most optimistic goal was to get 400 attendees. We had 280 attendees at our 5th […]
Business activity declined in the New York State area as reported by firms in the August 2016 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline PMI for general business conditions fell for a second month, losing five points to register -4.21. New orders were essentially unchanged at a reading near zero of 1.04. Shipments rose eight points […]
At SMU we almost always use three month moving averages to mitigate situations like the dismal and not credible May job creation statistics. In the July report May was revised up slightly from 11,000 to 24,000 and June was revised up from 287,000 to 292,000. This week’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported […]
Ryerson Holding Corp, a leading metals distributor and processor, reported net income of $5.6 million for second quarter 2016. Sales of $739.8 million declined 12 percent year over year due to lower average selling price, but increased 5.3 percent from Q1. Tons shipped increased 3.5 percent. Ryerson expects manufacturing growth to remain slow in the […]
Mexican steel association CANACERO welcomed antidumping duties placed on galvanized sheet steel and wire rod imported from China and Taiwan. The Mexican Ministry of Economy placed duties of up to USD$0.563 per kilogram on galvanized sheet from China and Taiwan and USD$0.49 per kilogram on wire rod from China. Said CANACERO in a statement: “Unfair […]
Steel Market Update speaks with dozens of companies on a daily basis and hundreds over the course of a week. We also receive a large number of emails, facebook and LinkedIn posts. Every so often we like to share some of the comments being made in an article we call “Bits ‘N Pieces.” We learned […]
PITTSBURGH, AUGUST 10, 2016 – Esmark Steel Group, one of the nation’s largest processors and distributors of flat-rolled steel, steel fabrication manufacturing and tinplate production, today announced that Michael Ogrizovich, currently President of Esmark Steel Group, has been named a Director to the company’s Board of Directors and been promoted to Vice Chairman of Mill […]
The hot rolled announcement has been made and the market is sifting through the results in order to figure out whether the results are good or bad for the steel industry. Of course, the answer to that question depends on what your end motivation is. Lower prices are good for manufacturing but bad for the […]
Ontario Steel Investments Limited (Ontario Steelworks) said on Tuesday that it has submitted a bid to buy US Steel Canada. The August 5th offer includes the assumption of the US Steel Canada pension plan, currently estimated at C$954 million ($724 million) and a commitment to provide C$25 million per year for post-employment benefits for current […]
According to the results of our latest flat rolled steel market trends analysis survey, as steel prices flatten out and lead times begin to come back in, flat rolled steel buyers and sellers are slightly less enthusiastic about their company’s ability to be successful in both the existing market environment as well as 3 to […]
Earlier this week we began our early August flat rolled steel market trends analysis. The process began with invitations going out to approximately 570 steel executives in the manufacturing, service center/wholesaler, trading company, steel mill and toll processing communities. The invitations are purposely heavily weighted toward manufacturing and service center/wholesalers as those two segments purchase […]
The following information was collected from our flat rolled steel market trends survey which we have been conducting since Monday of this week. Much of the collection information is similar to the Lead Times article above as this question is posed to manufacturing companies and distributors. What we are trying to discover is if there […]
June data for Construction Put in Place (CPIP) was released by the Department of Commerce on Monday August 1st. In June total construction slowed for the third consecutive month on a 3MMA (three month moving average) basis. All four sectors had negative momentum. These are non-residential buildings, residential buildings, infra-structure and other, which is a […]
Manufacturing activity expanded in July for the fifth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 85th consecutive month, according to supply executives surveyed in the July ISM Report on Business. The PMI registered 52.6 in July, down 0.6 percentage points from June and 2.2 percent above the 12 month average of 50.4. New […]
Global manufacturing began the second half of 2016 on a positive note, according to the JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI, compiled by Markit. The rate of growth for manufacturing rose at a faster rate between June and July on all of the indices that make up the composite PMI. At 51.0 in July, the PMI was […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. It is important to understand 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. The total […]
Durable goods orders fell sharply in June to $9.3 billion or a seasonally adjusted 4.0 percent. Orders were down for the second month with transportation equipment leading the decrease. May’s estimate was revised downward to 2.8 percent. Demand was weaker in June for civilian aircraft and defense, which fell 58.8 percent, and 20.7 percent, respectively. […]