Each month the Commerce Department issues its Construction Put In Place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. May data was released on Wednesday July 1st and historical data was revised back to January 2013. Construction Put in Place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for […]
On Monday, President Obama signed into law the bill that contains the “Level the Playing Field” act. This is the bill that made some potentially significant changes to trade laws, including changing the criteria for “material injury” findings and increasing penalties for foreign respondents that do not provide information requested by the Commerce Department. This […]
The June Chicago Business Barometer gained back half of May’s losses but remained in contraction for the second consecutive month and the fourth so far this year. The Barometer rose 3.2 points to 49.4 from 46.2 in May. Overall, the barometer declined 1.2 points in second quarter, registering 49.3 from 50.5 in Q1, its lowest […]
A little more than a week ago, Steel Market Update spoke at a Bank of America Merrill Lynch dinner in Chicago. In the audience were a couple of scrap companies who told us the mills in the Chicago area (ArcelorMittal in particular) have come back into the market to buy scrap after a lengthy absence […]
Take the time to read the article in tonight’s issue about what the new trade legislation will mean to how injury or material injury is determined. I spoke with one of my sources last week who told me that this legislation will be a “game changer” for those who import foreign steel. No longer will […]
Today (June 25, 2015), the House passed HR 1295 which includes extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act and other trade preference programs, as well as the renewal of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and improved AD/CVD laws that will benefit the steel industry. The measure passed by a vote of 286-138. Today’s vote follows […]
A quick note to those of you who have signed up, or will be registering for our 5th Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta on September 1 & 2nd. We found a little bug in the way our system looks at our members as they register for the conference. If you are logged into the website […]
Earlier today (Tuesday, June 23rd) HARDI sponsored their monthly galvanized steel conference call. On the call were HVAC wholesalers who sell galvanized steel sheet and coil to the HVAC mechanical contractors around the United States and Canada. Also on the call were a number of galvanized steel service centers and manufacturing companies, all associated with […]
New orders for manufactured durable goods orders fell 1.8 percent or $4.1 billion or 1.8 percent to $228.9 billion in May, according the U.S. Census Bureau. Orders have decreased in three of the last four months, including a 1.5 percent decrease in April, and continue to be below the 2010-to-date trendline since late in 2014. […]
I was advised by the US Department of Commerce that they will announce tomorrow (Wednesday, June 24) whether they will “…initiate AD and CVD investigations of imports of corrosion-resistant steel products from China, India, Italy, Korea and Taiwan.” We will have a fact sheet from them outlining their decision and we will provide it to […]
Steel Market Update has been asked a number of times to define, or help our readers to understand, what is “injury” when it comes to the domestic steel industry. Last week we heard from trade attorney Larry Friedman at the Association of Steel Distributors Meeting in Chicago that injury was losing sales, the lowering of […]
SMU Sentiment Index Jumps Since our last flat rolled steel market analysis and evaluation of how buyers and sellers of steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful both three to six months from now (Future) as well as in today’s economic environment (Current), we have had a second price increase and a dumping […]
Steel Market Update reported in the Tuesday issue of our newsletter that negotiations have started between the USW (United Steelworkers Union) and ArcelorMittal. The issue was raised at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch dinner where SMU publisher, John Packard, spoke last night. We have been anticipating that the posturing by the union and AM, […]
The steel industry has been preparing for a trade suit for well over a year. Those who buy steel, manufacturers, fabricators and steel service centers have had ample time to prepare for what many had been predicting as inevitable, a light flat rolled coated steel anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) suit. As we speak […]
Manufacturing conditions in the Philadelphia area improved in June, according to the June Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The survey’s indicators for general activity, new orders, and shipments all improved from their readings in May. The headline diffusion index for current activity increased to 15.2 in June from […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP index was reported as 105.102 for May, down by 0.18 from April and down from the all-time high of 106.309 in November last year. The three month moving average, (3MMA) in May was 105.40, down by 0.23 from April. January […]
The USW negotiating committee for workers at ArcelorMittal USA met in Pittsburgh this week to begin working on new contracts. The current three year contracts will expire at 11:59 pm. EST, September 1, 2015. The master Basic Labor Contract covers employees at 12 ArcelorMittal USA facilities; three additional sites have contracts that will expire concurrent […]
Metalforming companies are expecting little change in business conditions in the next three months according to the June 2015 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. Just 23 percent of members surveyed (down from 24 percent in May) think economic activity will improve in the next three months; 60 percent expect no change. New orders […]
The Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) “fast track” was passed by the House in a 219-211 vote on Friday. The Trade Adjustment Act (TAA), however, suffered a crushing defeat in a 126 to 302 vote. TAA would extend a program providing assistance to workers who lose their jobs as a consequence of trade deals and add […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey headline index surprised economists by falling five points to -1.98 points in June. The consensus was for an increase of 6 points in the general business index, according to Bloomberg, and is the second negative reading in three months. The new orders index for New York manufacturers fell six points […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts out its series of producer price indexes, for thousands of goods and materials. For an explanation of this program see the end of this piece. The latest release last Friday reported results through May. We run this analysis every three or four months to give readers […]
Steel Market Update was analyzing data from our last flat rolled market survey just as the domestic mills began announcing price increases. We thought our readers might be interested in looking at the data with us and then guess as to whether the new price increases will “stick” or falter over time. In our opinion, […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) analysis of non-farm employment reported that 280,000 jobs were added in May and the March and April result was revised up by a total of 32,000. Economists had expected U.S. employers to add 220,000 jobs last month. The three month moving average, (3MMA) of gains through May was 207,000 […]
The steel world (which is not as large as it used to be) is in New York City this week to attend (lobby call) the Steel Success Strategies Conference hosted by World Steel Dynamics and their AMM partners. It is the one place (other than SMU Steel Summit Conference – hint, hint) where one can […]
Steel Market Update conducted our flat rolled steel analysis (survey) last week. We began the process on Monday (June 1st) and approximately 90 percent of the responses were made prior to the filing of the anti-dumping and countervailing duty suit on corrosion-resistant steel (galvanized, Galvalume, galvanneal, aluminized, etc.). We invited approximately 600 companies to participate […]
Twice per month Steel Market Update asks both manufacturing companies and service centers/wholesalers to weigh in on the subject of service center spot price offers. In the survey concluded on Thursday of this past week, with most responses having been locked in prior to the dumping suit announcement, we found manufacturers reporting mixed results. Thirty-eight […]
Ferrous scrap prices rose in June as obsolete flows continue to be weaker than normal and the domestic mills have come back into the market. The strength of the market has come as a surprise to dealers and mills alike. Number 1 Heavy Melt (HMS) ranged from $230 to $265 per gross ton with the […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted our flat rolled steel analysis over the past four days. Based on the responses collected from those taking our survey we found a continuation of the optimistic trend that we have seen for a number of years now but, when compared to 2nd Quarter 2014 our index has been disappointing […]
The following article was the first of a two part series of articles on how the anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) systems work regarding any steel trade case that might be filed. Since we now have a filing on corrosion resistant steels (galvanized, aluminized and Galvalume) we thought that our readers would be interested […]
The United Steel Workers said Wednesday that the union fully supports the antidumping and countervailing petition filed on corrosion-resistant steel products. The petition, said the USW in a press release, details ”how a flood of subsidized and unfairly traded steel imports from China, India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan has damaged the US steel industry […]