In an earlier article I talked about price risk in steel and several strategies to hedge that risk. Another, perhaps more important, steel buyer risk is continuity of supply. Steel making is a difficult and dangerous activity, and a global one. Unfortunately suppliers often make (and don’t catch) unusable product. Also, every year there seems […]
On Monday of this week, Steel Market Update (SMU) began our early March flat rolled steel market analysis. We sent invitations to just under 600 companies associated with the industry. Of the companies responding 44 percent were manufacturing companies (end users), 40 percent were steel service centers/wholesalers (distributors), trading companies represented 6 percent of the […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to be optimistic regarding business prospects both in the current market environment as well as looking out 3 to 6 months into the future. Even so, our index was 2 points lower than the +39 measured during the middle of February and at +37 is the lowest […]
On Monday of this week Steel Market Update sent invitations to just under 600 companies to participate in our flat rolled steel market survey. The respondents to our survey consist of manufacturing companies (44 percent of the respondents), service centers/wholesalers (41 percent) and trading companies (6 percent), with the balance being steel mills, toll processors […]
Steel buyers report a softening in new orders in the latest Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Steel Buyer’s Survey. Those who expect orders to increase over the next three months dropped to 27.3 from 42.9 percent in January, 18 percent expect orders to decline, and 54.5 percent expect levels to remain the same. Current incoming […]
Manufacturing activity expanded more than expected in February after a weather related drop last month. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing PMI registered 53.2 percent, up from 51.3 percent in January. A reading above 50 indicates the manufacturing economy is growing, a reading below 50 indicates contraction. The new orders index rose 3.3 points […]
Global manufacturing activity showed steady improvement during February. The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.3 in February, inching up from 53.0 in January. Manufacturing output remained steady in February while new orders grew at a faster rate. Employment levels were higher in much of the world with staffing cuts reported in China, Russia and […]
Nucor Chairman, President and CEO John Ferriola and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal dedicated the completed Nucor Louisiana facility in St. James Parish on Monday. The $750 million DRI plant began production in December 2013 and is Phase 1 of a potential five phase $3.4 billion project. Construction of the plant began in March 2011 at a ground […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) began collecting responses for the mid-February flat rolled steel market survey during the week of February 17th. Even with weather related issues being felt around the country, our Buyers Sentiment Index was measured at a robust +39 at that time. That result was one point lower than from our last measurement […]
The following article was written by steel industry consultant and contributor to Steel Market Update, Paul Lowrey. Mr. Lowrey owns a consulting company called Steel Research Associated, LLC which works with steel mills and large distributors or manufacturing companies involved with steel and steel products. More information about Mr. Lowrey can be found in the […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index for general business conditions fell 8 points to 4.5 in the February 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey after rising 10 points in January. New orders were flat for the month, declining 11 points to -0.2. Manufacturers remained optimistic about business conditions for the next six months. The future general business […]
The following is an abridged version of the Chicago Federal Reserve statement plus 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. An explanation of the Index is provided at the end of this piece. The official statement […]
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 at present is thirty-six. Please refer to Table 1 for the view of the present situation and the quantitative measure of trends. The present situation of […]
Olympic Steel reported a net loss of $1.4 million for the fourth quarter 2013. Net sales for the quarter were $290.5 million, nearly even with Q4 2012 sales of $291.7 million Full year results showed an increase in net income to $7.6 million. Full year sales declined 8.7 percent to $1.3 billion in 2013, shy […]
Australian company BlueScope Steel announced EBIT of AUD$48.7 million ($44 million) for its Hot Rolled Products North America segment for the first half of FY 2014 ending December 31, 2013. EBIT increased 48 percent from the same period in FY 2013. The segment includes a 50 percent interest in US-based North Star BlueScope Steel Ltd […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted our mid-February flat rolled steel market survey this past week. Our surveys are by invitation only and our current invitee list consist of 586 companies. The vast majority of the individuals or companies associated with our survey have been vetted by SMU management to insure that we are working from […]
A stronger performance is expected in all end-markets for 2014 said Reliance Steel & Aluminum in the company’s recent conference call. The following are some comments by Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board David Hannah and Gregg Mollins, President and Chief Operating Officer on the steel market and industry. Regarding pricing Gregg Mollins […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) began collecting responses earlier this week from the companies invited to participate in our twice monthly flat rolled steel market analysis. Even with weather related issues being felt around the country, our Buyers Sentiment Index was measured at a robust +39 this week. This result is one point lower than from […]
The following article was written by steel industry consultant and contributor to Steel Market Update, Paul Lowrey. Mr. Lowrey owns a consulting company called Steel Research Associated, LLC which works with steel mills and large distributors or manufacturing companies involved with steel and steel products. More information about Mr. Lowrey can be found in the […]
Gibraltar Industries is expecting 2014 growth to be driven mainly by the residential new construction and residential remodeling said the company in its earnings call on Feb. 20. “While we’re starting 2014 at a relatively slow pace given the cold and harsh weather in much of the country since the new year, we believe the […]
The domestic steel mills and oil country tubular goods (OCTG) manufacturing companies which filed dumping cases against India, the Philippines, Saudia Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam are happy. However, the big fish – Korea – escaped with no duties being instituted. The U.S. Department of Commerce released affirmative preliminary determinations […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) participates in a monthly galvanized steel conference call with the HARDI wholesalers, manufacturing companies and service centers associated with the HVAC related organization. The wholesalers in the Upper Midwest, East Coast and as far west as Wichita, Kansas reported having lost 5-6 days of shipments due to inclement weather in their […]
General business conditions fell 8 points in the February 2014 Empire State Manufacturing Survey after rising 10 points in January, but remained positive at 4.5. New orders were flat for the month, declining 11 points to -0.2. The shipment index dropped 13 points to 2.1. The inventory index fell to -5.0 indicating a slight drop […]
The Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) reported metalforming companies surveyed in the February 2014 Business Conditions Report are expecting weaker business conditions during the next three months. Those who expect economic activity to improve during the period slipped from 46 percent in January to 32 percent in February. PMA members anticipate a modest decline in incoming orders […]
The Volkswagen AG workers at the Chattanooga automotive assembly plant voted 712 to 626 against unionizing on Friday, Feb. 14. The defeat is a major setback for the UAW which has seen dwindling membership in the last several years. The UAW’s membership has fallen from a peak of 1.5 million in 1979 to just around […]
In the month since this analysis was last published, the US dollar has strengthened against 12 of the 16 nations that we consider to be major players in either the iron ore market or in steel product trade or both. Most notably, the Russian Rouble and the South African Rand have declined by 4.7 percent […]
Manufacturing companies and service centers are beginning to agree on one topic: service center spot prices are faltering and spot price offers are beginning to drop. The percentage of manufacturing companies reporting lower spot prices out of the service centers rose from 4 percent in early January to 20 percent. At the same point in […]
Based strictly on our most recent flat rolled steel survey results, Steel Market Update is seeing modest improvements being reported in demand. As a group, our survey respondents have been becoming more optimistic as those reporting demand as in decline has shrunk from 17 percent in early December to 7 percent this past week. At […]
Friday’s report has been well publicized as disappointing at 113,000 jobs created especially following the December result at 76,000. Less well appreciated is that the January report made revisions to data on payrolls, the workweek and earnings going back to 2009. Revisions to this data, which is drawn from a survey of employers, showed 369,000 […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) began collecting responses earlier this week from the just shy 600 companies invited to participate in our twice monthly flat rolled steel market analysis. The individuals responding to our questions this week – particularly those related to our SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index – were being influenced by weather related issues […]