Ford and Canadian union Unifor have reached a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract. Contract negotiations were extended after the original contract expired yesterday at midnight. Both parties agreed to work through the night to avoid a strike by Canadian autoworkers. Ford was selected by Unifor to set the pattern for automotive negotiations with […]
As of Friday, the National Interagency Fire Center was reporting that 80 large fires were still burning across the western United States. Varying reports indicate the flames have consumed anywhere from 4-7 million acres so far and at least 34 people have died. The death and destruction is heartbreaking, no doubt. Viewed in terms of […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled Since I last reported on the last Thursday in August, we have seen a strong move higher in both spot […]
“More than 18 years after it acceded to the WTO, China continues to fail to comply with its WTO obligations,” stated the America Iron and Steel Institute in comments to the U.S. Trade Representative regarding China’s compliance with World Trade Organization rules. In a 44-page letter to the USTR, AISI claims there is overwhelming evidence […]
U.S. manufacturing indicators continued to show signs of improvement in July and August data as the economy recovers from the coronavirus shutdowns. The health of the manufacturing economy has a direct bearing on the health of the steel industry. The Industrial Production Index The Industrial Production (IP) index is a gauge of output from factories, […]
Business activity continued to improve in New York State in September. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business conditions index soared 13 points to a reading of 17.0, its third consecutive positive reading this year. New orders rose modestly while shipments increased significantly, gaining seven points to register 14.1. Delivery times lengthened and inventories and […]
By CRU Analyst Kevin Bai, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Domestic sheet prices in China continued to reach new highs for the year alongside further improvement in underlying sheet demand in combination with limited supply. Domestic CR coil prices went up by RMB290 /t to RMB4720 /t and HDG sheet by RMB140 /t to […]
By CRU Research Manager Paul Butterworth, from CRU’s Steel Raw Materials and Steel Costs CRU price and cost forecasts suggest that the steel sector generally will return close to steady-state, or “through-cycle,” levels of profitability over the five-year forecast period. However, as our analysis highlights, steady-state profitability of individual steel mills has varied widely in […]
Employment in manufacturing and construction is recovering much more slowly than in the overall economy. The net change in employed persons was negative 20.8 million in April. Each month since then has had positive growth, but the recovery slowed in July and August. We have created a new summary chart for August to track the overall […]
The net change in employed persons in September was 661,000. Employment gains have slowed each month since June when 4.8 million jobs were recovered. The baseline against which future comparisons will be made is February 2020, the all-time high for nonfarm employment. Figure 1 shows the total number of people employed in the nonfarm economy. […]
Through October, manufacturing has added 742,000 jobs and construction 789,000 since the pandemic-driven crash in April. The baseline against which future comparisons are made in this analysis is February 2020, the all-time high for nonfarm employment. Figure 1 shows the total number of people employed in the nonfarm economy. Table 1 is designed on rolling […]
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the millions of people on the West Coast who are suffering the threat and devastation of historic forest fires. The loss of life and property is staggering. And the blow to business and commerce in the region has yet to be measured. Face masks are doing double duty […]
SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a Director at Cargill Risk Management, and […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook Since lockdown restrictions eased in May the global recovery has been strong, but with marked differences across countries and sectors. The strong recovery in China is partly due to its better virus trajectory over the summer, which has allowed confidence to return. This has […]
Steel Market Update is please to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level membership, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Nonfarm employment is improving, but made back less than half the losses seen in the two months of March and April in the four-month period from May through August. The August jobs […]
The September jobs report was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday and failed to meet the consensus expectation. September’s net gain was 661,000. The average monthly gain in the four months May through August was 2.7 million. In the September data, the July gain was revised up by 27,000 and August […]
The economy added 638,000 jobs in October, exceeding consensus expectations, reported the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Expectations were for a gain of 600,000. In the October data, the August gain was revised up by 4,000 and September was revised up by 15,000. Of the job losses in March and April, 10,090,000 are still unemployed. Figure […]
Zekelman Industries has launched a national advertising campaign advocating for increasing the level of manufacturing in the United States. Over the course of September and October, the company estimates its campaign will generate an estimated 315 million impressions, reaching decision-makers and policy influencers outside of the brand’s typical target audience of distributors, contractors, building developers and […]
Economic activity increased modestly in most of the U.S. in August but remained well below pre-COVID-19 levels, said the Federal Reserve in its latest Beige Book publication. “Continued uncertainty and volatility related to the pandemic, and its negative effect on consumer and business activity, was a theme echoed across the country,” said the Fed in […]
Construction spending slid in July for both public and private nonresidential construction, says the Associated General Contractors of America in their latest analysis of government data. The decline contrasted a surge in construction spending for new homes in July. “The dichotomy between slumping nonresidential projects—both public and private—and robust homebuilding seems sure to widen as […]
The U.S manufacturing sector expanded faster in August, according the Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The August PMI rose 1.8 points to 56.0 in August for the highest reading of the year and indicated a fourth month of expansion after a contraction in April. The new orders Index jumped 6.1 points to 67.6 percent, while […]
The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose to a 21-month high in August, driven by the restart of production and businesses following COVID-19 shutdowns. The composite PMI rose to 51.8 in August from 50.6 in July, its second month in a row in expansion territory. Manufacturing output grew for a second month after five months […]
Census Bureau data for downstream steel product shipments lags, but supports AISI data for crude steel production. The Census Bureau provides monthly data on manufacturing inventories, shipments and new orders for total U.S. manufacturing and for individual industries, one of which is steel products. Therefore, the Census Bureau provides a useful reality check for steel […]
ArcelorMittal Global Research and Development in East Chicago was awarded two High-Performance Computing for Manufacturing Program (HPC4Mfg) grants from the Department of Energy. The grants are part of $3.3 million in federal funding for 11 manufacturing and materials projects focused on solving technical challenges in manufacturing and materials development in the U.S. “These awards from […]
Congratulations are in order to a rising star in the steel industry. Steel Market Update is pleased to announce that Stephen Serling, Vice President at Quality Metal Stamping, is the recipient of the 2nd annual SMU NexGen Leadership Award. Serling was selected from a slate of 24 nominees and will receive a mentorship day with […]
Orders for durable goods jumped 11.2 percent in July after rising 7.7 percent in June, posting gains for the third straight month and beating all expectations. Automotive orders drove the increase, leaping 22 percent following a robust 24 percent increase in June. Orders for core capital goods–nondefense goods excluding aircraft which are considered an indicator […]
Tomorrow we finally go LIVE! We will open the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference officially at 10 AM ET. This being an unusual year, we came up with an unusual opening, and one that I think you will not want to miss. Some quick facts – we are around 870 registrations as of Sunday, Aug. […]
Today we finally go LIVE! The platform is now open. There is content beginning at 9 AM this morning. We will open the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference officially at 10 AM ET. This being an unusual year, we came up with an unusual opening, and one that I think you will not want to […]
Algoma Steel has been awarded a $4 million grant to upgrade its equipment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The funding was provided by Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Fund and will be used to improve both the tar-removal and light-oil-recovery areas of its coke-making plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. This process will not only help […]
It has been almost 12 months in the making and, due to the pandemic, one of the most carefully crafted agendas ever presented for an SMU Steel Summit Conference. Here is the final agenda for this year’s “virtual” conference. All times referenced are Eastern Time. The programs on the agenda prior to 10:00 AM are […]