Steel Market Update is please to share this Premium content with Executive-level subscribers. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Manufacturing output shows contraction in nine of the 10 indicators analyzed by Steel Market Update, which helps to explain the current weakness in steel demand in some sectors. This report […]
The Association of Steel Distributors has named Bill Hickey, chairman of Lapham-Hickey Steel Corp. in Chicago, as its 2019 Steel Executive of the Year. Hickey served as president of the family-owned service center for 40 years, growing the company to 10 locations and 700 employees before stepping back from day-to-day management. Son Brian now serves […]
Manufacturing activity in New York State changed very little from October to November. The general business conditions component of the Empire State Manufacturing Index posted a 2.9 for November, indicating sluggish manufacturing growth for the sixth consecutive month. The shipments index fell four points to 8.8 and new orders increased slightly to 5.5, still above […]
Manufacturers still face slowing business conditions for 2020, according to the Deloitte 2020 Manufacturing Industry Outlook. Deloitte projects that annual manufacturing GDP growth will end 2019 at 2.7 percent and at 1.3 percent for 2020, down from prior projections of 3.7 and 2.0 percent, respectively. Job growth was muted in 2019 with the manufacturing sector […]
The third quarter of 2019 saw a disappointing decrease in labor productivity. The labor productivity of nonfarm businesses decreased by 0.3 percent in the quarter. Unit labor costs increased 3.1 percent year over year, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Unit labor costs and productivity changes are […]
The mills may have announced two increases in flat rolled steel prices in the past month, but you couldn’t tell from comments by members of the Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. The distributors of galvanized steel to the HVAC sector report little impact on prices so far, though demand remains healthy despite some […]
By CRU Research Manager Paul Butterworth, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service Although profitability for domestic sales in China has fallen sharply in 2019, steel exports from the country have not risen. Historically, when domestic profitability dropped, exports would rise. Prior analysis has shown that the strength of the domestic market is a key driver […]
United Auto Workers have ratified a new four-year contract with Ford with the approval by 56.3 percent of union members. The new contract includes a $9,000 signing bonus for full-time workers, performance bonuses, two 3 percent annual raises and two 4 percent lump sum payments. Health care costs remain unchanged. “Every Ford employee and temporary […]
The first U.S.-flagged Great Lakes bulk carrier to be built in more than 35 years will be made from steel supplied by ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor. The carrier was commissioned by Interlake Steamship Company and will be built by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. A ceremony celebrating the first cut of steel for the new vessel was held at […]
Change and growth, both personal and professional, were the dominant topics at the 2019 Annual Conference of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries, held in San Antonio Nov. 6-9. Beginning with a workshop by Asbury Group CEO Kailei Carr—”Unveil Your Most Powerful Self”—and ending with Anne Phelon, CEO at Merrett Davies International—”Moving from […]
The composite producer price index of all commodities peaked in October last year and in 12 months through September has declined by 3.2 percent. This Steel Market Update report is an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data and is intended to provide subscribers with a view of the competitive position of sheet steel, aluminum, […]
Demand for steel sheet products declined by more than the seasonal norm in September. This analysis by Steel Market Update is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import/export data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). The analysis summarizes total steel supply by product from 2003 […]
By Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 7.5 percent m/m to 195.7 (see chart) after prices rose in most markets. The most pronounced rebounds were in the U.S. and European scrap markets, while prices in Asia either rose or were stable. Prices in regions […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Chris Asgill There has been a marked rise in Chinese imports of pig iron and HBI this year. This has been primarily due to limited domestic scrap supply that cannot be offset by external supply due to restrictions in scrap imports. Limited scrap supply relative to demand has meant that scrap prices in […]
Big River Steel announced it will be the long-term provider of high-quality steel products to Array Technologies, an industry-leading solar tracking manufacturer. Array was committed to finding a source of steel products that would allow the company to maintain its commitment to providing reliable renewable energy not only in their product design but also through […]
There is one constant to our SMU Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals Workshop – just about everyone who takes the workshop enjoys it and sees the value in the subject matter being taught. This has resulted in many of our past attendees working their way up within their company’s management structure. […]
There is one constant to our SMU Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals Workshop – just about everyone who takes the workshop enjoys it and sees the value in the subject matter being taught. This has resulted in many of our past attendees working their way up within their company’s management structure. […]
Although too early to be called a trend, the latest readings in Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyer’s Sentiment Index show a slight uptick in optimism following recent price increase announcements by the mills. The goal of the index is to measure how buyers and sellers of steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful […]
Although too early to be called a trend, the latest readings in Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyer’s Sentiment Index show a slight uptick in optimism following recent price increase announcements by the mills. The goal of the index is to measure how buyers and sellers of steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful […]
The global manufacturing downturn showed some signs of easing in October. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI posted 49.8, still in contraction but rising for the third consecutive month. The intermediate goods sector fell to a three-month low of 48.8, but PMIs for consumer and investor goods saw expansion in October. The Eurozone remained in contraction […]
The rate of job creation in October slowed, partly due to the GM strike. Net job creation in October declined to 128,000 from an upwardly revised 180,000 in September. August was revised up by 51,000 and September up by 44,000. In combination, this was the highest upwards two-month revision that we can remember. Rising employment […]
Jobs have been lost in the primary metals sector in each of the last seven months. In October, 10,000 jobs were created in construction, while manufacturing industries lost 36,000 jobs. A reported 131,000 jobs were created in the private sector, while government lost 3,000 positions. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing […]
Commerce Department Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data for September confirms the contraction that began in June 2019. CPIP expenditures data for September was released on Nov 1. Through September, total construction had negative momentum every month since October last year. In the period June through September, total construction declined each month on a year-over-year […]
Steel prices continued their decline in October to an average hot rolled price below $500 per ton, prompting a $40 per ton price increase announcement by the flat rolled mills late in the month. With a price change in play, Steel Market Update switched its Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral. Widespread concerns about the declining […]
The Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing PMI remained in contraction in October with a reading of 48.3, the third month of contraction, indicating continued softening in the manufacturing sector. The October reading was an increase of 0.5 percentage points from September. Nine of the ten components of the index registered below the neutral point of […]
The Associated General Contractors of America maintains that trade fights with China, the EU and other countries are undermining demand for private sector construction projects. “The best way to make sure our economy continues to expand is to quickly resolve a series of trade disputes that have contributed to business uncertainty and likely held back […]
Liberty Steel plans to merge all of its GFG Alliance steel businesses into one global entity—Liberty Steel Group. The consolidation will include GFG’s upstream and downstream steel manufacturing, mining and distribution businesses that encompass 10 countries and 30,000 employees. Liberty Steel Group claims it will be the eighth largest steel producer outside of China with 18 […]
John Packard is traveling… Eddie Lehner, Ryerson president and CEO, is optimistic that carbon steel prices will bottom in the fourth quarter. “Given where prices are now, the recent price increases have a better chance of sticking than the ones that were announced in Q2 and Q3,” he commented during the company’s third-quarter conference call […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen We expect world GDP to grow by 2.5 percent this year and next; in other words, we expect global growth to be broadly stable at current rates. The story for world industrial production, instead, is one of a mild recovery from 1.4 percent in 2019 to 2.2 percent in […]
Results for Ryerson Holding Corp., the Chicago-based processor and distributor of industrial metals, suffered from declines in steel prices and demand during the third quarter, but company executives are hopeful for improved margins in the coming quarters. Ryerson reported third-quarter revenues of $1.10 billion, a decrease of 11.6 percent compared to $1.25 billion in third-quarter […]