The last few days leading up to what has become a major steel conference have been hectic to say the least. My SMU team has been playing the role of the Little Engine that Could (I think I can, I think I can…) and I am amazed when we hit the crest of the hill […]
Metalforming companies are struggling with higher steel prices and longer lead times as a result of Section 232 tariffs, but are still expecting business conditions to improve during the next three months. The Precision Metalforming Association’s August Business Conditions Report showed 29 percent of participants expect an increase in economic activity, 62 percent expect no […]
A letter last week from Tennessee manufacturers to Washington asks President Trump to consider the unintended consequences of Section 232 tariffs on steel-consuming companies. The group of six Dickinson Country manufacturers said they employ over 1,000 workers and depend on competitively priced steel to fabricate products that compete in a global marketplace. “We respectfully ask […]
Diana and I leave for Atlanta first thing on Wednesday morning. It’s an eleven-hour trip, so I will be checking emails and answering texts. The weather forecast for Atlanta on Aug. 27-29 looks very promising with high temperatures in the upper 80s and lows around 70 degrees. There is only a small possibility for rain, […]
Editor’s note: The following was contributed by analysts at the CRU Group. The Turkish-U.S. political relationship has soured sharply in the past week. U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted relations were “not so good” on Friday, Aug. 10, and doubled tariffs on U.S. imports of Turkish steel. Turkish President Erdogan responded with anger, suggesting the country […]
Productivity growth was strong in the second quarter and unit labor costs increased 1.9 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 reported quarterly by the BLS and results for Q2 2018 were released this week. This basic […]
We are now one week away from the start of the 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We are continuing to accept registrations, and we expect the conference to be completely full when we kick off at 1 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 27. If you would like to register, you can do so on our website […]
The U.S. trade situation is causing some consternation, according to analysts at CRU. During a webinar on Tuesday, which was made available to SMU member companies, analysts discussed the trade measures that have been instituted by the Trump administration and the potential impact on the U.S. and global economies. Steel and aluminum tariffs were imposed […]
Manufacturers in New York State reported growing business activity in August, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says the general business index of the survey climbed three points to 25.6 as new orders and shipments remained strong. The new orders index slipped about a point to […]
Steel Market Update expects to welcome nearly 900 executives to our Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta Aug. 27-29. There is still time to sign up if you would like to be one of them. To register, visit: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel-Summit or by contacting our office at 772-932-7538. See the full conference program below: Making Sense Out of […]
On Friday morning I will be speaking with John Ferriola, Nucor’s CEO, going over some of the topics we will discuss during our one-on-one on stage at this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. I would like to offer our readers an opportunity to send me your thoughts on what you would like to learn from […]
Effective Monday, August 13, the Trump administration doubled the tariffs on steel imports from Turkey to 50 percent, stunning the market and setting off a wave of speculation on how this trade action may impact the steel and scrap markets in North America. A tweet from President Trump early Friday set the change in motion: […]
Flat rolled and plate steel distributors, as well as the manufacturers who purchase spot material from the distributors and wholesalers, are reporting a softening of spot pricing. That is the spot pricing service centers are offering their manufacturing customers. Last week, Steel Market Update conducted our early August flat rolled and plate steel market analysis. […]
What would ultimately be best for the environment: strict fuel efficiency standards that will dramatically reduce the tailpipe emissions from new vehicles or more achievable standards that will add less cost to each vehicle and allow more drivers to upgrade and get older gas guzzlers off the road? Over the strong objections of environmental groups […]
Orders for Class 8 trucks set a record in July. FTR Transportation Intelligence reports orders jumped 25 percent to over 52,250 units last month in what is normally the weakest month of the year for order intake. Five of the highest order months ever occurred in 2018, said FTR. Tight capacity in the face of […]
Caterpillar says it will raise prices due to U.S. tariff measures despite expecting a stronger profit outlook for the year. The major exporter of construction, mining and energy-related equipment estimates recently imposed tariffs will cost the company $100 million to $200 million in the second half of 2018—about 3 percent of its full-year profits. Strong […]
The U.S. economy created 157,000 net jobs in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, down from 248,000 in June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released on Friday. This decline was partly mitigated by revisions to May and June, which improved by 24,000 and 4,000, respectively. Conditions remain very positive in the U.S. […]
In June 2018, 12,751,000 people were employed in manufacturing and 7,242,000 in construction. Construction employment has grown by 4.4 percent in the last 12 months, while jobs in manufacturing have increased by 2.6 percent. In the last three months, however, manufacturing employment has gained almost twice the number of jobs as construction, according to Steel […]
Editor’s note: The following July 30 CRU Insight was authored by John Johnson, CEO of CRU China. CRU believes that China is destined for a new phase of steel industry consolidation that could lead to a fundamental change in China’s steel industry landscape, with ramifications reaching far beyond China. In 2016, the Chinese government published […]
As a multinational business with a plant in the United States, should NLMK USA have a right to import slabs tariff-free from its parent company in Russia over the objections of domestic steel producers? The Trump administration maintains that steel imports, including Russian slabs, are a threat to the U.S. steel industry and thus national […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: Things are hectic these days. While the House has gone on recess until after Labor Day, the Senate is taking a mere two weeks off. Before taking their shortened break, the Senate passed the Miscellaneous […]
Earnings week for the steel industry revealed trade was foremost on the minds of steel executives. The steel mills expressed their approval of the administration’s tariff action that has boosted steel pricing and, along with higher demand, earnings for the second quarter of 2018. • U.S. Steel Corp. CEO David Burritt was a strong advocate […]
Steel Market Update celebrates its 10-year anniversary this month. In August 2008, John Packard incorporated the Steel Market Update newsletter and began selling subscriptions to those interested in learning more about what was happening in the flat rolled steel industry. As a steel veteran with more than 30 years of sales experience, Packard believed he […]
Steel Market Update celebrates its 10-year anniversary this month. In August 2008, John Packard incorporated the Steel Market Update newsletter and began selling subscriptions to those interested in learning more about what was happening in the flat rolled steel industry. As a steel veteran with more than 30 years of sales experience, Packard believed he […]
There are no clouds on manufacturing’s horizon. Economic indicators of manufacturing activity are virtually all positive for the remainder of 2018, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of 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, […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, 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 […]
Boosted by the Trump tariffs, the high price of steel in the U.S. tends to mask other issues. Notably, strained credit limits. While mills report record profits, some of their customers report cash flow issues that threaten their very viability. Steel Market Update canvassed the market this week and gathered the following observations from steel […]
The Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing ISM Report on Business expanded for the 111th month in July. The PMI registered a solid 58.1, although decreasing 2.1 points from the June reading of 60.1 percent. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally […]
June construction spending declined 1.1 percent after an upwardly revised record level in May, according to government data analyzed by the Associated General Contractors of America. However, the first half of 2018 was marked by widespread gains in public and private investment spurred by recent tax and regulatory reform. “There appears to be plenty of […]
The rate of expansion for global manufacturing slowed in July, according the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI. The index reached its lowest reading in a year at 52.7, down from 53.0 in June. “The manufacturing upturn has lost sizeable momentum since the start of the year. However, with final demand growth having firmed in recent […]