Manufacturing activity expanded in July for the fifth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 85th consecutive month, according to supply executives surveyed in the July ISM Report on Business. The PMI registered 52.6 in July, down 0.6 percentage points from June and 2.2 percent above the 12 month average of 50.4. New […]
Global manufacturing began the second half of 2016 on a positive note, according to the JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI, compiled by Markit. The rate of growth for manufacturing rose at a faster rate between June and July on all of the indices that make up the composite PMI. At 51.0 in July, the PMI was […]
The states compile their employment numbers independently of the Feds, then both are reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The results are close. In the last fourteen quarters since Q1 2013, the Feds reported total job creation of 9,111,000 and the states reported 9,105,400 a difference of only 0.06 percent. Part of this small […]
According to Baker Hughes data from July 29, 2016, the U.S rig count for the week was 463 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is up 1 rig compared to last week, with oil rigs up 3 to 374 rigs, gas rigs down 2 to 86 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged […]
US Steel narrowed its losses in second quarter, reporting a net loss of $46 million compared to a loss of $340 million in first quarter, and $261 million in Q2 2016. Net sales for the company totaled $2.58 billion. Earnings for the flat rolled and US Steel Europe segments returned to positive numbers at $6 […]
Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United […]
Figure 1 shows published data for the growth of GDP, industrial production and consumer prices through the second quarter of 2016. The GDP and industrial production portions of this graph are three month moving averages. The growth of GDP was 6.7 percent in the second quarter, which was unchanged from the first quarter, down from […]
Each month Steel Market Update looks at shipping conditions on the seas, rivers, rails and highways. July freight volumes were down somewhat in the first half of July for cargo moved by rail and truck. Barges on America’s rivers are seeing an uptick in rates due to several lock closures. Seaborne shipping is seeing a […]
SSAB Americas results in improve in second quarter due to higher volumes and prices. Sales were SEK 2.8 billion ($323 million) compared to SEK 2.4 billion ($277 million) in first quarter. Shipments improved 11 percent to 526,000 tonnes from 475,000 tonnes in Q1. The company reports good demand from steel service centers and the wind […]
According to Baker Hughes data from July 22, 2016, the U.S rig count for the week was 462 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is up 15 rigs compared to last week, with oil rigs up 14 to 371 rigs, gas rigs down 1 to 88 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs up […]
The price of oil and natural gas have much to do with sales of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and related steel products. The energy markets represent a large portion of the hot rolled coil used to make pipe and tube, storage facilities as well as equipment used to drill and pump oil and natural […]
Below is the latest release issued by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through May 2016. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for May 2016 decreased 13.6 percent […]
Steel buyers believe that we have reached the top of the flat rolled steel price cycle and that all of the risk is downside from here. Even so, most of the buyers with whom SMU spoke over the past couple of days are not believers in the idea that steel prices will collapse in the […]
According to Baker Hughes data from July 8, 2016, the U.S rig count for the week was 440 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is up 9 rigs compared to last week, with oil rigs up 10 to 351 rigs, gas rigs down 1 to 88 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. May data was released on Friday July 1st and included revisions back to January 2014. Construction Put in Place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for a given […]
The Associated General Contractors of America report that construction spending fell 0.8 percent in May to $1.143 trillion. Most of the decline was due to lower spending in private nonresidential construction. The press release from AGC follows: Construction spending dipped in May but posted strong, broad-based gains for the first five months of 2016 compared […]
A strong finish to the 2016 fiscal year drove annual earnings per share to a record $2.22 for Worthington Industries. Earnings for fourth quarter, ending May 31, 2016, were were $58.8 million with sales of $714.7 million. Net earnings were more than double Q4 2015 earnings of $28.9 million. “While we expect some headwinds to […]
The United Kingdom surprised the world by voting for an exit from the European Union on Thursday. Steel Market Update asked John Anton, Principal Economist-Steel at IHS Global Insight to provide us his insights into what this might mean for the global market. GDP growth in the EU27 is expected to lose 0.2 percent in […]
According to Baker Hughes data from June 24, 2016, the U.S rig count for the week was 421 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is down 3 rigs compared to last week, with oil rigs down 7 to 330 rigs, gas rigs up 4 to 90 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged […]
The following is the monthly report on exports by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS): Falls Church, VA. June 24, 2016. Steel exports increased 2.5 percent from March to April, as both Mexico and Canada increased their purchases from the United States. The 794,537 net tons of exports were almost 6 percent lower than […]
The price of oil and natural gas have much to do with sales of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and related steel products. The energy markets represent a large portion of the hot rolled coil used to make pipe and tube, storage facilities as well as equipment used to drill and pump oil and natural […]
Two bidders continue to vie for purchase of the Hamilton and Nanticoke steel plants in Canada. According to the Hamilton Spectator, sources close to the sale confirm that Essar Group of India and KPS Capital Partners LP of New York are the final contenders for US Steel Canada. KPS is also interested in gaining Essar […]
On Wednesday this week the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its series of Producer Price Indexes (PPI) for more than 10,000 goods and materials. For an explanation of this program see the end of this piece. The latest release this week reported results through May. We run this analysis every three or four months […]
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) introduced a new data set for GDP by state and region last year and back dated it to Q1 2005. On Tuesday this week the data was updated through Q4 2015. Even though we might consider this to be historically “old” we think it’s worth reporting because it is […]
According to Baker Hughes data from June 10, 2016, the U.S rig count for the week was 414 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is up 6 rigs compared to last week. Compared to this time last year, the 414 count is down 445 rigs. The is the second week in […]
Below is the latest release issued by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through April 2016. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for April 2016 shifted slightly to […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), busheling scrap (BUS), and financial futures markets was written by Dave Feldstein. As Flack Steel’s director of risk management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. […]
The oil pipeline business has been suffering due to the crash in oil prices but here is something to cheer about for pipeline producers –the beer pipeline. In Bruges, Belgium brew master Xavier Vanneste is about to open the taps to send his beer from the De Halve Maan brewery along a 3 kilometer pipeline […]
According to Baker Hughes data from June 3, 2016, the U.S rig count for the week was 408 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is up 4 rigs compared to last week, with oil rigs up 9 to 325 rigs, gas rigs down 5 to 82 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to be optimistic regarding their company’s ability to be successful in both the current market environment as well as looking out three to six months into the future. The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index for Current Sentiment rose +2 points from mid-May at +69. One year ago […]