On July 5th I will celebrate the 45th anniversary of when I first joined the steel industry. I never intended on joining the industry after I left college. It was the love of a woman, and a broken heart that led me to the door of Seymour Waldman and Rolled Steel Corporation in Skokie, Ill., […]
John Packard the founder of Steel Market Update will be retiring at the end of August 2022. Here is what Packard had to say during his announcement to the SMU customers: On July 5th I will celebrate the 45th anniversary of when I first joined the steel industry. I never intended on joining the industry […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Prices for sheet products continued to fall rapidly around the globe this week. Mills in the US have become increasingly aggressive with their offers and are shifting their focus towards value-added products in order to obtain higher margins over costs. As a result, […]
Nucor Corp. completed its $3 billion acquisition of C.H.I. Overhead Doors from KKR & Co. Inc. C.H.I. is a manufacturer of residential and commercial overhead and rolling doors, also known as garage doors. It serves US and Canadian markets. The deal expands the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker’s long-term strategy to expand its manufacturing model to provide […]
Several North American automakers have confirmed planned summer outages for maintenance programs, facility updates, and model-year changeovers to Steel Market Update (SMU). Some outages are starting this month, while others can be seen as late as August, but the bulk of the scheduled downtime will be seen throughout the month of July. Stellantis – Chrysler’s […]
Chrisopher Kristock has been named vice president of the automotive program for the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). His focus will be on keeping steel’s position as the material of choice for the automotive industry. Kristock will also lead AISI’s Automotive Applications Council, which focuses on innovation, education, and technology transfer within the automotive […]
As an industry, we should strive to recognize young talent within the industry as one of the ways to motivate and inspire our employees. Over the years, one of the things I have learned through the conversations I have with young people in manufacturing, steel distribution, steel mills, and others associated with the flat rolled […]
Despite falling prices and declining lead times for galvanized sheet, overall demand is still generally strong and a good reason for optimism, according to members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International on this month’s call of HARDI’s Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council. One HARDI member in the Rocky Mountain region noted that his company […]
Austal USA has won another contract with the US Navy. This latest design and construction contract is valued at $128 million. Austal will build a medium auxiliary floating dry dock for the US Navy at its shipbuilding facility in Mobile, Ala. The dry dock will have an overall length of 694 feet, an overall pontoon […]
By CRU Senior China Economist Henry Hao, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook and China Macro Monthly In May, overall economic activity in China has improved marginally as the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions led to the resumption of production in late May. Export and infrastructure investment have regained momentum. However, prospects for construction remain weak. While the contraction […]
US light vehicle sales fell to 1.11 million units in May, down 11.2% from 1.25 million units in April. LV sales in the US shrank by 29.2% year-on-year (YoY). The annualized selling rate fell to 12.68 million units last month from 14.50 million units in April, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. The […]
There are 66 days to go before the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. The final agenda tweaks are being announced as we look to provide the most timely and relevant program for those attending this year’s conference. The conference starts on Monday, Aug. 22, at 9 a.m. It runs through Wednesday, Aug. […]
There are 66 days to go before the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. The final agenda tweaks are being announced as we look to provide the most timely and relevant program for those attending this year’s conference. The conference starts on Monday, Aug. 22, at 9 a.m. It runs through Wednesday, Aug. […]
Business activity in the state of New York was little changed in June, following a surprising fall in May, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The New York Fed’s Empire State headline general business conditions index – a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state – rose 10.4 points in June but remained at […]
Steel Market Update just conducted one of our flat rolled and plate steel market surveys. The data collected consisted of responses from service centers (46% of respondents), manufacturing companies (32%), steel mills (10%), trading companies (8%), suppliers to the steel industry (4%), and toll processors (2%). We intentionally weight the number toward distributors and manufacturing […]
Steel Market Update just conducted one of our flat rolled and plate steel market surveys. The data collected consisted of responses from service centers (46% of respondents), manufacturing companies (32%), steel mills (10%), trading companies (8%), suppliers to the steel industry (4%), and toll processors (2%). We intentionally weight the number toward distributors and manufacturing […]
By CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook Energy costs for consumers – in the form of utility bills and the cost of filling a car – have risen sharply, but not as sharply as the cost of crude oil and natural gas. But this doesn’t necessarily mean a lot more pain […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, June 8 The CRUspi plummeted again month-on-month in June by over 12.3%, which is a larger drop than in May. This makes it the third-largest percentage point drop on record and the second largest in terms of total points. The supply shock caused by […]
US construction spending in April totaled $1.744 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, just 0.2% above February’s upwardly revised $1.741 trillion. Investment in construction rose less than expected as an increase in private construction was partially offset by declines in public spending, the Commerce Department reported. Construction spending in April missed expectations, easing from a […]
The US labor market added 390,000 jobs in May, a robust figure but a slower pace of hiring versus the upwardly revised 436,000 additional payrolls in April. The result kept the unemployment rate unchanged month on month (MoM) at the pandemic-era low of 3.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Payroll gains were better than […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The US economy surprises in May by adding 390,000 new jobs, higher than earlier estimates and despite growing concerns about economic slowdown and surging inflation. The result kept the […]
Ford Motor Co. is investing big to increase electrical vehicle production in the Midwest. The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker recently announced $3.7 billion in expenditures to increase manufacturing at plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri. The funding will support more than 6,200 new union jobs, and nearly 3,000 temporary UAW-Ford workers will be converted into permanent full-time […]
Nucor has agreed to acquire Summit Utility Structures LLC and a related company, Sovereign Steel Manufacturing LLC. They produce metal poles and other steel structures for utility infrastructure and highway signage, the steelmaker said. Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor said the companies will become part of a new business unit, Nucor Towers & Structures, serving the utility, […]
Registrations continue to flock in, and we are now approaching 700 registered executives for the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We anticipate close to 1,200 executives will be registered by the time we get to the conference, which is being held at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta on August 22-24. You can join […]
Registrations continue to flock in, and we are now approaching 700 registered executives for the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We anticipate close to 1,200 executives will be registered by the time we get to the conference, which is being held at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta on August 22-24. You can join […]
The S&P Global US manufacturing PMI – another measure of manufacturing – fell to 57 in May, its lowest level in four months, and a noticeable turn from the market improvement the month prior. Last month’s results are down from 59.2 in April and a “flash” May reading of 57.5. (Recall that a reading above […]
The outlook among purchasing managers surveyed by the Institute for Supply Management was positive in May. US manufacturing activity grew at a slightly faster rate than anticipated as the six biggest manufacturing industries registered moderate to strong growth last month. May’s Manufacturing PMI rose to 56.1%, a 0.7 percentage point gain compared to a reading […]
Spending on nonresidential construction projects declined for the second straight month in April because labor shortages suppressed construction activity, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported. “Nonresidential construction spending is being held back by a paucity of qualified workers, not a lack of projects,” AGC chief economist Ken Simonson said. “With job openings at an all-time […]
The Biden administration, picking up where the “America First” Trump administration left off, extols the virtues of increased production here at home. There are many advantages to this approach, the president says. Increased production in the US will diminish reliance on China in critical materials for electric vehicles (rare earth metals and lithium, for example). […]
Earlier this week SMU canvassed buyers on a variety of subjects, ranging from steel prices and demand to supply chain issues and new domestic capacity. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we thought it would be fitting to share them in each buyers’ own words. Where do you think steel prices will bottom, and […]