Construction spending increased 1.0 percent in February following a 2.5 percent gain in January, reported the Associated General Contractors of America in its latest analysis of government data. Construction spending totaled $1.32 trillion in February, up 1.0 percent from the January rate and a gain of 1.1 percent compared to February 2018. Public construction accounted […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison Data released for Q1 2019 have been largely positive. The ISM Manufacturing survey reflects a moderating rate of expansion, but the reading of 54.2 in February shows a solid level of manufacturing activity with new orders, output, employment and backlogs squarely in “expansion” territory. Housing disappointed in 2018, but […]
The spot price of West Texas Intermediate FOB Cushing, Okla., had a recent peak on Oct. 3 of $76.40/barrel. The price declined to $44.48 on Dec. 27, but recovered to $59.09 on March 15. The total number of operating rigs exploring for oil has declined by 61 since Jan. 4. The prices of oil and […]
Since hitting an eight-year low in December of just 1,893,568 tons, imports of steel into the United States have been up and down, according to Commerce Department data. Final January imports jumped to 3,478,865 net tons, up 83.7 percent over December—a nearly 1.6 million ton increase. Then in February, based on license data for the […]
The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled against a legal challenge to the constitutionality of Section 232 brought by the American Institute for International Steel. AIIS alleged that Section 232 violates the constitutional prohibition against Congress delegating its legislative powers to the president. The CIT denied a motion by AIIS for a summary judgment, citing […]
Big River Steel still considers Brownsville, Texas, an attractive site for a new EAF mill and the Port of Brownsville is ready whenever BRS greenlights the project. In his State of the Port address this week, Brownsville Navigation Chairman John Reed noted that Big River Steel extended its land lease option for another year. A […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 10 to 1,016, with oil rigs down 9 and gas rigs down 1. Compared to this time last year, the 1,016 count is […]
Steel imports are trending up in March as license data from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows total imports tracking towards 2.9 million net tons–above the 3-month and 12-month moving averages. Based on license data through March 19, both finished and semifinished steels (mostly slabs purchased by domestic mills) are up significantly over February levels. […]
Stelco, one of the most technologically advanced integrated steelmaking facilities in North America, will take another step forward in the technology realm. Stelco has signed an agreement with Canvass Analytics to use the Canvass AI software to transform operational data into “actionable intelligence.” “By partnering with Canvass Analytics, we are systematically transforming our facilities into […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: President Trump may be forced to concede some ground on his Section 232 tariffs in order to get legislators in Canada and Mexico to sign off on the new North American trade agreement. One option the administration reportedly […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 11 to 1,027, with oil rigs down 9 and gas rigs down 2. Compared to this time last year, the 1,027 count is […]
“Moderate and balanced growth” is evident across the residential, nonresidential and public construction sectors, although labor shortages continue to plague the industry, says an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America Construction spending dipped 0.6 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.29 trillion, but increased 1.6 […]
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 […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison U.S. economic data for December and January are beginning to come in now that the federal government is funded for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. December housing starts showed a weak end to 2018 as the total of 1.247 million units for 2018 was […]
As of Feb. 26, with the month nearly complete, U.S. steel imports were trending at less than 2.5 million tons, based on license data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. February imports are likely to finish the month well below January and below the 3- and 12-month moving averages as well. Semi-finished steels continue to […]
In the last month, there has been a positive turnaround of raw materials prices. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through February of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, 3 month/3 month and 12 month/12 month changes and tells us that price movements with the exception of busheling have been […]
Oil production in the U.S. was at an all-time high in October last year and declined only slightly in the latest data for November. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has recovered somewhat from its recent low of $44.48 on Dec. 27. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 4 to 1,047, with oil rigs down 4 and gas rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, the 1,047 count is up […]
This morning, Steel Market Update adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator on flat rolled from Neutral to Higher. Our Price Momentum Indicator was last adjusted on Jan. 28, 2019, when we moved from Lower to Neutral as the domestic steel mills, led by Nucor, began announcing price increases. It is normal for SMU to adjust our […]
This morning, Steel Market Update adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator on flat rolled from Neutral to Higher. Our Price Momentum Indicator was last adjusted on Jan. 28, 2019, when we moved from Lower to Neutral as the domestic steel mills, led by Nucor, began announcing price increases. It is normal for SMU to adjust our […]
February imports are trending high, close to 3 million net tons, according to U.S. Department of Commerce license data released Feb. 12. However, looking at the data more closely, the domestic steel mills continue to bring in a tremendous amount of semi-finished steels (slabs, billets – but most are slabs). The mills are on pace […]
Earlier this week I was at the Port of Tampa Steel Conference as I was asked to be the master of ceremonies, and I also moderated the two main panels on Wednesday morning. Both panels dealt with trade issues with the primary focus being on the Section 232 tariffs on steel. The Port of Tampa […]
Canadian distributor Russel Metals reported strong financial results for the 2018 fourth quarter and for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, for all three of its operating segments. The company attributed its success to growth in value-added processing and its U.S. energy field stores, as well as an improvement in its average selling price. Russel, […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, increased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs rose by 4 to 1,049, with oil rigs up 7 and gas rigs down 3. Compared to this time last year, the 1,049 count is […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released all kinds of foreign steel import data late this afternoon. We are studying the numbers to see if they make sense, as one of the steel mills told SMU late today that the mechanical pipe and some of the other pipe categories appear to be out of whack. In […]
U.S. Steel Corp. plans to restart the No. 1 Electric-Weld Pipe Mill at its Lone Star Tubular Operations—a mill that had been “permanently” idled in 2016 due to the challenging conditions for tubular products created by fluctuating oil prices, reduced rig counts and high levels of imports. “We are encouraged by an improvement in market […]
The manufacturing sector expanded in January following a weak December, according to the latest survey of purchasing managers by the Institute for Supply Management. ISM’s January PMI rose 2.3 points to 56.6 with new orders, production and inventories growing at a faster rate last month. A reading above 50 indicates growth. New Orders led the […]
Key Market Indicators in January, indicators of the present situation, remained strong, but trends deteriorated to the weakest level in two years. This report summarizes 36 data streams that we believe critically describe the state of and provide forward guidance for the steel market. Due to the government shutdown, 13 of the 36 indicators were […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released import license data through the month of December 2018 earlier this week. The December license data is showing a large reduction in semi-finished imports (mostly slabs going to domestic steel mills). SMU believes the lower slab numbers may be due to quotas from Brazil having been reached, thus capping […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, increased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs rose by 9 to 1,059, with oil rigs up 10 and gas rigs down 1. Compared to this time last year, the 1,059 count is […]