China’s Ministry of Commerce says it will take will take definitive steps to cut steel production over the next five years by 100 to 150 million tonnes. China’s excess steel capacity has been has been estimated to be around 300 million tonnes. With domestic demand down, steel production has found its way into exports that […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Board of Directors this week approved the Institute’s 2016 Public Policy Agenda during its meeting in Washington, D.C. The Agenda outlines aggressive pro-manufacturing policy strategies to guide advocacy for the upcoming year and highlights the importance of the steel industry to the U.S. economy and […]
Mill Steel Co., one of the nation’s largest distributors of flat-rolled carbon steel, has acquired certain assets of S&S Steel Services, Inc. (S&S), an Indianapolis/Anderson based supplier of carbon flat-rolled steel service. Terms of the deal, which closed on January 11, 2016, were not disclosed. S&S Steel services manufacturing customers in the Midwest, Mid-South and […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday in their analysis of non-farm employment that 151,000 jobs were added in January, down from 262,000 in December. According to the Wall Street Breakfast, “consensus had called for 190,000 jobs to be added, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 5 percent. Traders in interest rate […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its construction put in place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. December data was released on Monday February 1st. Construction Put in Place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for a given month from a sample of projects. In […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel and the companies that use the products are becoming more optimistic about both the short term and medium term success for their companies. Earlier this week we began the process of collecting data regarding various trends involved with the flat rolled steel industry. One of the key proprietary […]
After five years of negotiations, the twelve nations of the Trans Pacific Partnership signed the trade agreement in a ceremony in New Zealand on February 4. The signing was celebrated by the trade ministers but the agreement must still be officially approved by the individual nations. The countries have two years to ratify TPP through […]
Factory orders continued to slide downwards in December, decreasing $13.5 billion or 2.9 percent to $456.5 billion according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Orders have been down four of the last five months and follow a decrease of 0.7 percent in November. Orders for transportation equipment, in particular commercial aircraft, led the […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The total number of indicators considered in this analysis is currently 36. Please refer to Table 1 for the view of the present situation and the quantitative measure of trends. Readers should […]
USW members ratified a new three year contract with US Steel on Monday. The ratification passed by a 2-1 margin and will take effect immediately. “I am extremely proud of the solidarity and the commitment to fairness that the Steelworkers showed throughout this process,” said USW International Vice President Tom Conway, who led the union’s […]
The Institute for Supply Management reports that manufacturing activity in January remained in contraction for the fourth consecutive month. The January PMI was 48.2, signaling continued weakness in the manufacturing sector despite overall growth for the economy. The reading was no surprise to economists, coming in just above expectations of 48.1 in a poll by […]
Caterpillar says it plans to close five plants in the U.S. as part of a cost-cutting strategy it began last year. The closures at the mining and construction equipment company will mean layoffs for about 670 employees. In September 2015, Caterpillar said global restructuring actions would cut as many as 18,000 jobs through 2018. “Cost […]
We ended the month of January on a positive note. SMU Price Momentum Indicator continues to point toward higher prices over the next 30 days. Our Sentiment Index broke through an extended downward (growing pessimism) trend and is now heading higher (more optimistic). We believe a portion of the improvement is due to flat rolled […]
Mexican steelmaker, TYASA, plans to build the first Castrip® mill outside of Nucor at its mini-mill in Ixtaczoquitlan. The new facility will have the capability to produce 500,000 tons of thin-gauge, high-strength. The TYASA steel campus in the state of Veracruz, Mexico is designed to be highly efficiently with environmentally-friendly low emissions. The Simetal EAF […]
The following is the Chicago Federal Reserve statement followed by our own graphical analysis. The CFNAI is an excellent reality check for much of the economic analysis that we routinely provide in The Steel Market Update and is also a reasonably good predictor of the direction of steel demand with a six to nine month […]
Yesterday (Monday, January 25th) I visited the AHR Expo (ASHRAE for us old timers) in Orlando. I had not attended one of these shows for probably six years or more. This show used to be a mandatory visit for me when I was a salesman peddling galvanized steel. I remember when the Carrier Corporations, York-Borg […]
In the market analysis questionnaire concluded late last week we asked a number of questions regarding foreign steel and the potential for another uptick in foreign market penetration with the domestic mills raising flat rolled steel prices. We asked if the mill price announcements were opening the door and making foreign steel prices more competitive? […]
China’s economy, the second largest in the world behind the U.S., grew at 6.9 percent in 2015. That was pretty close to its target of 7 percent for the year but also the slowest rate since 1990. Data released by the Chinese government shows fourth quarter growth at 6.8 percent. As recently as 2007 China’s […]
Twice per month, Steel Market Update (SMU) produces our flat rolled steel market analysis. This is done through the use of an online questionnaire which is accessed by an invitation only link. SMU invites just under 600 companies associated with the flat rolled industry with a major focus on manufacturing companies and steel distributors. Our […]
I will be at the AHR Expo on Monday of this week (January 25th). I will only be there for one day due to other conflicts on my schedule. If you are planning on attending and would like to meet with me, the best way to find me is either through text or a phone […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel are beginning to feel more optimistic about their company’s ability to be successful both in the current market environment as well as three to six months out into the future. Those in the industry seem to be bucking the national pessimistic trend we see on television every night […]
The vast majority of the respondents to our latest flat rolled steel market analysis believe that the domestic steel mills will be able to collect “some” of the latest round of price increases which range from $20 to $30 per ton. In our latest assessment of the flat rolled market, we asked whether the domestic […]
Manufacturing conditions in the Philadelphia region declined modestly in January, according to the Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The diffusion index for current activity rose from a revised -10.2 in December to -3.5 in January. It is the fifth consecutive month of negative readings for the index but […]
As those of you up north look out your windows at a winter wonderland (ice, snow, cold, windy…) I want you to think about our Leadership Summit Conference which will be held in warm, sunny Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It’s the kind of place you want to bring your family – kids can play on […]
This article is normally reserved for our Premium members but we felt it would be a good one to share with all of our readers. If you are interested in signing up for a Premium membership or would like a trial, let us know at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or call (800) 432 3475. Following up on our […]
The shipping season on the Great Lakes officially ended with the closing of the Soo Locks on Friday, Jan. 15. The locks in Sault St. Marie are the last to close for the winter season. The Welland Canal, through Ontario, closed on Dec 30 followed by the St. Lawrence Seaway locks on Dec. 31. The […]
There are zombie factories in China. No, they are not making zombies but the factories themselves are the equivalent of the walking dead–steel mills hanging on by a thread, not making money, reducing workforces, but clinging to life when they are all but dead. The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) is painting a grim […]
This report compares domestic mill shipments and total supply to the market. It quantifies market direction by product and enables a side by side comparison showing the degree to which imports have absorbed demand. Sources are the American Iron and Steel Institute and the Department of Commerce with analysis by SMU. Table 1 shows both […]
New York manufacturers experienced their worse business conditions since the 2007-2009 recession, according to the January Empire State Manufacturing Survey. All indexes for current conditions were in negative numbers except those for pricing. The survey for general business conditions index fell 13 points to -19.4. Indexes for new orders and shipments plummeted by double digits […]
Over the last two flat rolled steel market analysis performed by Steel Market Update (the last concluding this past Thursday, January 7th) we have seen a dramatic break in the overall (all participants included) demand trend. As you can see by the graphic provided, over the past two quarters we saw the rise and peak […]