US automakers had a stellar month, beating analyst auto sales forecasts with November sales of 1,238,322 vehicles. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate for November soared to 16.4 million, well above 15.3 million a year ago. General Motors delivered 212,060 vehicles in November, its highest November sales in six years. Retail sales were up 19 percent […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index business conditions held steady for New York manufacturers in October. The general business index fell 5 points to 1.5 but remained in growth status. The new orders index rose 5 points while shipping fell 3 points, suggesting modest increases for both indexes for the month. New York manufacturers continued to […]
Negotiations on 2014 flat rolled steel contracts are heating up. Sources are advising Steel Market Update that there has been some movement in the negotiation process by the domestic mills which has allowed a number of the mills to close some 2014 business. We are also hearing from multiple sources of a move by buyers […]
The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.2 in November from 52.1 in October, indicating a faster improvement in overall operating conditions. Manufacturing output and new orders rose at the quickest pace since February 2011. A moderate rise in employment was reported the US, Japan, the UK, India, Taiwan, South Korea, Turkey, Vietnam, Canada […]
The November ISM Report for November 2013 indicated expansion in the manufacturing sector for the sixth consecutive month and the highest PMI (purchasing mangers index) reading for the year. The PMI registered 57.3 percent, up from 56.4 percent in October. Indices for new orders, production, employment and exports picked up their pace of growth in […]
The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) is a monthly estimate by major industry of manufacturing output in the Seventh Federal Reserve District states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. It is a composite index of 15 manufacturing industries that uses hours worked data to measure monthly changes in regional activity. The three month […]
The Fifth District Manufacturing Index surged to 13 in November from an index reading of 1 in October. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, almost all business activity indicators rose except for capacity utilization and backlog of orders, which were flat for the month. The index for shipments advanced 18 points while the […]
One of the questions we hear on a continuous basis is, how much foreign flat rolled steel import is really coming and what impact will it have on domestic steel prices (and when)? Steel Market Update conducted our most recent analysis of the flat rolled steel market over this past week. Based on the responses […]
Manufacturing companies are reporting the prices being offered by service centers are essentially only moving in one direction – higher. End users, responding to the most recent flat rolled steel market analysis conducted by Steel Market Update this past week, reported prices as rising as compared to remaining the same by a 73 percent to […]
Tenth District: Manufacturing activity and expectations for future growth grew modestly in the Tenth District in November according to a survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The index for new orders surged from 3 to 15, month-over-month, and indices increased for order backlogs and employment. Indices fell in production, shipments, new […]
The total number of Key Market Indicators considered at present is thirty six. The present situation of eleven of the indicators based on historical standards was positive on November 21st the same as on October 31st but there were two changes. We changed the situation of demand for commercial and industrial bank loans from green […]
There is a lot of interest in what direction spot flat rolled prices will move from here. It appears there is a split between some of the domestic steel mills regarding the most recent price announcements made by AK Steel and Severstal NA. We understand that spot prices on hot rolled are hitting a bit […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel products continue to be optimistic about their company’s ability to be successful in the current market environment, however at lower levels than what we had been seeing over the past few months. The Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel Buyers Sentiment Index was measured this week at +33 down […]
Hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume spot prices continued to remain firm this past week – even as many of the domestic mills have not “officially” announced support for the price increases made by AK Steel and Severstal NA on the 7th of November. According to Steel Market Update (SMU) sources in both the […]
Canadian manufacturing sales rose 0.6 percent to $49.9 billion in September according to the November release by Statistics Canada. Sales were at their highest level since June 2012 mostly due to gains in the automobile and food industries. Volume sales gained 1.0 percent for the month, a positive indicator for economic health. Of the 21 […]
Both industrial production (IP) and manufacturing capacity utilization data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP index was reported as 99.98 for October, down by 0.14 from September. This index is based on the July 2007 level being defined as 100. The three month moving average, (3MMA) accelerated to a […]
Cleveland, 14th November – The President of the United States today visited ArcelorMittal’s Cleveland facilities, where he met employees at the hot dip galvanising line and gave a speech on the economy. The President was welcomed to the plant by Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO. Speaking before the President, Mr Mittal said: “It’s a […]
Negotiations on 2014 flat rolled steel contracts are heating up. Sources are advising Steel Market Update that there has been some movement in the negotiation process by the domestic mills which has allowed a number of the mills to close some 2014 business. We are also hearing from multiple sources of a move by buyers […]
Net job creation in October was 204,000; August and September were revised up by 45,000 and 15,000 respectively. In October 169,000 jobs were created in services and 35,000 in goods producing industries. The private sector added 212,000 jobs as government shed 8,000. Of the goods producing, 19,000 were in manufacturing and 11,000 in construction (Table […]
Service centers are attempting to collect higher flat rolled spot steel prices from their end user customers and each other. Steel Market Update has seen a dramatic rise in the percentage of service centers raising spot prices to their customers during the last 30 days. Based on responses from service centers the percentage of distributors […]
Based on the SMU steel market survey which was concluded this past week, less than 50 percent of 2014 flat rolled steel contracts have been settled. When asked if negotiations with the domestic steel mills had resulted in at least having contract pricing in place for the 1st Quarter 2014, 34 percent of manufacturing companies […]
Kloeckner Americas reported sales of €594 million ($793 million) during the third quarter, down 14.9 percent from a year ago. Third quarter EBITDA of €20 million ($26.7 million) was up 67 percent from €12 million in 2012 and was unchanged from second quarter 2013. The US segment accounted for 38 percent of Kloeckner & Co. […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel who participated in our latest review of the steel industry continued to be optimistic regarding their company’s ability to be successful in the current market environment. The latest Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel Buyers Sentiment Index was measured at +40 during the first full week of November. The […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) concluded our early November research on the flat rolled steel market earlier today. One of the areas we queried was if those responding to our questionnaire believe that the domestic mills will raise flat rolled steel prices within the first two weeks of November. With 72 percent of the respondents responding […]
This morning’s report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis surprised on the upside with a growth of 0.7 percent from Q2 and 2.82 percent annualized. GDP in Q3 2013 was 1.65 percent higher than in Q3 2012. This data is the first estimate for the third quarter; revisions have often been substantial recently. The following […]
Global manufacturing picked up in October with production, new orders and international trade volumes all improving. The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose to 52.1 in October from 51.8 in September. Expansion was seen all regions of the PMI composite except France, India and Greece which were still in the negative growth range below a […]
Goldman Sachs steel analysts, in a letter to their clients seen by Steel Market Update, upgraded the steel sector as they feel, “…we see the sector heading to a sustainable recovery over the coming years…” They went on to tell their clients, “The supply-demand fundamentals for steel are starting to look more appealing, particularly for […]
ISM steel buyers reported shipping levels are higher than three months ago and about the same or higher compared to 12 months ago. Inventory decreased slightly in October with most (46.2 percent) saying they have tons on hand to cover 0-1 months; 38.5 percent said they have enough for 1-2 months. Tons on hand are […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Daniel R. DiMicco has announced that he is retiring from the Board of Directors of Nucor (NYSE: NUE) and from his position as Executive Chairman on December 31, 2013. In appreciation for his distinguished and exemplary service to Nucor as CEO, Chairman and Executive Chairman of the Company, […]
On Thursday, October 31st Steel Market Update adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator from Neutral to Higher. We now believe domestic flat rolled steel prices will rise over the next 30 to 60 days. We have already begun reporting prices as rising over the past three weeks. Prices on benchmark hot rolled coil had been bouncing […]