The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond released its manufacturing survey for the Fifth District on Tuesday showing moderate expansion in July. Shipments, new orders, and order backlogs all increased during the month. The composite index rose to 13 from 7 in June and 3 in May. The employment indices decreased to 1 while the wages […]
I knew the cold rolled trade suits were coming this week. It had been rumored for a couple of months just as the hot rolled trade suits are being discussed for August. It doesn’t make the day of the filing (or night and day if you received one of the USS emails last night) go […]
At this point everyone wants to know if demand is growing and are inventories at a point where buyers will need to go into the market and begin buying again. The combination of growing demand and inventories that need to be replenished will be what drives flat rolled steel prices higher. Steel Market Update looks […]
By a wide majority, buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel have little to no fear of a possible strike or lockout at either US Steel or ArcelorMittal. At least that is what we found during our most recent flat rolled market analysis conducted last week. Negotiations have started between ArcelorMittal and US Steel with […]
Essar Steel Algoma is investing CDN $240 million to modernize and expand its facilities to meet the global demand for advanced grades of steel. The investment includes $60 million in financial support from the governments of Ontario and Canada. Essar Steel Algoma received a $30 million grant from Ontario’s Ministry of Northern Development and Mines […]
The Steel Market Update Steel Buyers Sentiment Index continues to be modestly optimistic although less so than what the index was reporting one year ago. The trend for the proprietary index has been to move sideways in what might be considered a not too hot, not too cold marketplace. SMU looks at how buyers and […]
Domestic mill lead times are one of the keys followed by Steel Market Update as we evaluate steel prices and price momentum. A market where we see extending lead times tends to allow for the collection of higher steel prices throughout the industry (steel mills and distributors). When we see lead times collapsing we tend […]
Everyone in the steel business has had their own experience with moving steel from one place to another, and not always a positive one. The logistics of steel are always a challenge, and this year Steel Market Update has assembled experts from trucking, barge and the ports, to share their thoughts regarding the challenges of […]
A quote from one of our Steel Summit 2015 keynote speakers, “Although the price of oil seems to be more tied to the dollar, there is some supply and demand factors that can impact the magnitude of the impact of the dollar’s value on the per barrel price. Therefore, we have to watch what the […]
Steel Dynamics expressed concern about imports during the company’s second quarter earnings call. “On the trade front, we’re pleased the ITC has confirmed the flood of unfairly traded imports of corrosion-resistant sheets deal has materially reduced our shipments, pricing and profitability. I believe in fair trade, but the U.S. has become a dumping ground for […]
The July 2015 Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed slightly improved conditions for New York state manufacturers. The index rose six points to 3.9 following a negative reading in June. The index has been hovering around the zero point for the last four months indicating that business activity has been subdued. Graphic representation of the period […]
The Philadelphia Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey showed slower growth in business activity in July. The headline index dropped to 5.7 from 15.2 in June but remained positive for the month. The index has been in single digits so far this year with the exception of June. New orders slipped eight points in July while the […]
Contract talks opened July 13 between the United Auto Workers union and the big three Detroit automakers. As GM, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler enter negotiations, at issue for the companies is labor costs. GM and Ford are looking to cut labor cost that average $8 to $9 per hour higher than at Honda and Toyota. […]
Last week Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted our early July flat rolled steel market analysis (survey). We invited just under 600 companies to participate in our questionnaire which covered such items as Sentiment, pricing trends, purchasing trends, inventories, lead times, negotiations and more. We placed two questions early during the survey process where we ask […]
Steel Market Update queried U.S. domestic steel mills to hear what they have to say on the recently passed trade legislation. One of the executives who responded was Jim Baske, chief executive officer, ArcelorMittal North American Flat Rolled who said, “The steel industry in the United States faces significant competitive challenges from dumped and subsidized […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has been measuring “Sentiment” or, how buyers and sellers feel about their company’s ability to be successful both in the current market environment as well as three to six months into the future. We concluded our analysis earlier today and have determined that those involved in the flat rolled steel industry […]
Even with a new price increase announcement out of US Steel (+$40) lead times remain flat compared to what we saw during the middle of June. All of the products, hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume lead times are shorter than what we reported at the beginning of July 2014. Hot rolled lead times […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) continues to collect data from manufacturing and distributors suggesting that the domestic steel mills are willing to negotiate flat rolled steel pricing for new spot orders. The weakest product is hot rolled steel where 76 percent of our respondents reported the mills as willing to negotiate steel prices. Prior to this […]
Steel buyers in the ISM Steel Buyers Survey continue to be cautiously optimistic that general economic activity will improve over the next six months. In the June survey, 38.5 percent of buyers expect economic conditions to improve, up from 30.8 percent in the May survey. However, 61.5 percent expect unchanged conditions during the period, up […]
Social medita is becoming an even larger forum for getting information to those who want it – and who want it quickly. We use our own blog which you can access from the Home Page (or any other page) from our website. We blog about lots of items which do not make it into the […]
Chevy is taking on the aluminum Ford F-150 with a series of ads sure to tickle consumers and annoy Ford marketers. The new ads for the Chevy Silverado poke fun at the F-150 while lauding the benefits of steel construction. The ads which are currently running in social media, point out the disadvantages of aluminum. […]
Our ferrous scrap sources told us that Detroit scrap prices were settled earlier today where all of the prices were reported as being sideways (no change from June pricing) with the exception of shredded scrap which was reported as being down $10 to three mills, sideways to another and one mill being undecided. We will […]
The Institute of Supply Management released their June report on July 1st. An explanation of the ISM index is given at the end of this piece. After seven straight months of decline the index gained 1.3 points in May and a further 0.7 points in June to end at 53.5 with a three month moving […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) analysis of non-farm employment reported that 223,000 jobs were added in June which was in line with expectations. April and May were revised down by a total of 60,000. Monthly job gains have averaged 221,000 over the past three months. In the 12 months prior to June, employment growth […]
Global manufacturing in June slowed close to a two-year low according to the JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI. The Index posted at 51.0 from 51.3 in May, but manufacturing output remained in expansion (above the neutral 50 point) for the 31st consecutive month. Manufacturing growth, on average, continued to grow in North America and Europe […]
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 […]
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 […]