Retaliatory tariffs are taking aim at those sectors that have been the strongest supporters of President Trump. An analysis of data by the Brookings Institution reports that 6.1 percent of U.S. exports, or $121 billion worth of goods, are now subject to tariffs by China, the European Union, Canada and Mexico. The Trump administration has […]
We had a bit of a split regarding service center spot prices in the analysis we did of the flat rolled steel markets last week. Manufacturing companies overwhelmingly reported their steel service center suppliers as dropping flat rolled steel spot prices compared to what they were seeing just a couple of weeks ago. On the […]
We had a bit of a split regarding service center spot prices in the analysis we did of the flat rolled steel markets last week. Manufacturing companies overwhelmingly reported their steel service center suppliers as dropping flat rolled steel spot prices compared to what they were seeing just a couple of weeks ago. On the […]
Twice as many of the respondents to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire expect flat rolled steel prices to remain the same or move higher. About 24 percent feel the downward price trend has bottomed, compared with 12 percent in last month’s returns. Steel Market Update’s current Price Momentum Indicator is pointing toward lower […]
Net job creation in September totaled 134,000 positions. Construction and manufacturing gains were both strong. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most of the goods-producing employees work in manufacturing and construction and the components of these two sectors of most relevance to steel […]
The employment situation in the United States is excellent and continues to improve. Rising employment and wages are the main contributors to GDP growth because personal consumption accounts for almost 70 percent of GDP. Steel consumption is related to GDP; therefore, this is one of the indicators that helps us understand the reality of the […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Chief Market Risk Officer, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
Priefert Manufacturing Co. is one of hundreds that have applied for exclusions from U.S tariffs on steel products they can’t source domestically. Priefert’s experience, much like so many others, is a case study in frustration. Based in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, Priefert is both a service center and a manufacturer of ranching equipment. The company filed […]
The renegotiated NAFTA, now called USMCA (the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement), still needs to be ratified in Mexico, the United States and Canada, but it is generating a plethora of commentary, both supportive and cautious. The new deal reached late Sunday “provides certainty to financial markets and supports investment and job creation in our country,” said incoming […]
In the cyclic environment of the steel industry, the best time to sell your company is when you are at the top of your game, said Vincent Pappalardo and Justin Wolfort of advisory firm Brown, Gibbons Lang & Co. Addressing service center executives at the Association of Steel Distributors regional meeting last week in Cleveland, […]
Manufacturing expanded in September, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The headline PMI posted at 59.8 percent, well over the neutral point of 50.0, but fell 1.3 percent from August. “Export orders expanded, but four major industries are no longer contributing. Price pressure continues, but the index softened for the fourth straight […]
The slowdown for global manufacturing continued in September, according to the latest J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI. The headline PMI fell to a 22-month low at 52.2, down from 52.6 in August. The PMI has been above the 50.0 neutral mark since March 2016, but has declined in each of the past five months. Output […]
The Association of Women in the Metal Industries (AWMI) will host its annual conference Nov. 7-9 at the Don Cesar in St. Pete Beach, Fla. This year’s schedule of events includes an educational tour of Chromalloy Castings on Wednesday, leadership trainings on Thursday and a dinner cruise on Friday evening. Mary Lindsey, Senior Vice President […]
The month of September saw steel prices continue a steady decline that began in August. Steel Market Update data in the table below shows the benchmark hot rolled price slid from more than $900 per ton in the summer to the current price around $854. The same for cold rolled, which went from $1,000 a […]
Aircraft and defense drove a 4.5 percent increase in new orders for durable goods in August, exceeding economists’ expectations. Aircraft orders jumped 69.1 percent and defense orders surged 44.4 percent last month. Orders for autos and parts, however, fell 1.0 percent. When removing transportation from the mix, orders rose a much softer 0.1 percent. Core […]
The percentage of manufacturing companies and service centers reporting distributor spot prices as weakening is nearing the SMU level of capitulation. Capitulation is the point at which steel distributors are panicking and dumping what is perceived as high-priced steel into the spot market at ever lower prices. The process feeds on itself and the distributors […]
I am a new subscriber to your newsletter, but I’m not new to manufacturing. Most of my career was spent working at a medium-sized machining company located in the Southeast, which specialized in production machining mainly to support automotive companies and other assembly plants in the United States. Over the past three decades, I have […]
Support for the Trump administration tariffs on Chinese imports extends across party lines to a majority of voters, according to a recent survey sponsored by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a non-partisan partnership between American manufacturers and the United Steelworkers. The poll of 1,200 likely voters in the November election showed that 63 percent support […]
Distributors of products for the HVAC sector are keeping a tight rein on inventories as pricing for galvanized steel continues to weaken. The wholesalers are seeing pressure from customers postponing orders in anticipation of better prices down the road. “It appears customers are living hand to mouth, waiting to place any large orders until they […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index slid seven points in September from its 10-month high in August. The general business conditions index showed a slower pace of growth with a reading of 19.0 for the month, below economists’ expectations of 23. New orders and shipments continued to expand but at a softer rate, falling 0.6 points […]
If your company is interested in a sponsor spot at the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta (Aug. 26-28), please contact Jill Waldman at Jill@SteelMarketUpdate.com so we can get you our sponsorship package as soon as it is ready. Those companies that were sponsors this year will have first crack at committing for 2019. […]
This article is regularly published for our Premium users, but we decided to share it with our entire readership this month. If you are interested in upgrading to a Premium subscription, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475. Carbon steel tubular products have a rate of price escalation much higher than plastic products. This is also […]
The U.S. economy created 201,000 net jobs in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from 147,000 in July, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. This is the last employment report before the next FOMC meeting on Sept. 26 when the Feds are expected to raise interest rates for the third time this […]
Net job creation in August totaled 201,000 positions. Manufacturing took a small step back, but year to date the results are good, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most […]
Manufacturing companies and service centers are in agreement, service center spot prices to their customers are negotiable and dropping. Our most recent flat rolled steel market analysis conducted this past week found a growing percentage of manufacturing companies reporting their service center suppliers as lowering spot steel prices. At the beginning of July 2018, there […]
Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products from Canada and Mexico are back in the spotlight now that NAFTA talks are, hopefully, nearing an end. Steel associations from Canada and Mexico are calling for the tariffs to be terminated while the negotiations are under way. Mexican association Canacero has stated that a NAFTA deal […]
Gaurav Chhibbar is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this new role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategy for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Gaurav’s previous role, he was a Trader at Cargill spending time in Metal […]
Editor’s note: Normally a Premium offering, we are sharing this article with our Executive members. For more information about Premium-level membership, click here. Steel mill shipments are up while the shipment-to-inventory ratio is down, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Census Bureau data. This is an alternative data source for steel product shipments […]
Global steel production in July hit an annual rate of 1.855 billion metric tons. Capacity is calculated to be 2.38 billion metric tons; therefore, capacity utilization was 78 percent, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis of World Steel Association data. In three months through July, Chinese production grew by 10.5 percent year over […]
Economic indicators of manufacturing activity continue to look favorable for the rest of 2018. This report summarizes nine data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the United States. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications, and therefore will be brief in this summary. We don’t expect […]