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 […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. April data was released on Wednesday June 1st. Construction Put in Place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for a given month from a sample of projects. In […]
Manufacturing grew for the third straight month according to supply executives surveyed in the ISM Manufacturing Report on Business. The May PMI was 51.3, up 0.5 percent from April. Although the PMI didn’t have a large gain, the three month upward trend is good news since the PMI was in contraction (below 50) from October […]
Global manufacturing appeared stagnant in May, according to the JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI. The composite index was at the no change mark of 50.0, nearly the same as April’s reading of 50.1. Production and new orders hovered just above the 50 mark while new export orders fell at one of the fastest rates in […]
According to Baker Hughes data from May 27, 2016, the U.S rig count for the week was 404 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is unchanged compared to last week, with oil rigs down 2 to 316 rigs, gas rigs up 2 to 87 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1 […]
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. […]
New orders for durable goods in April increased 3.4 percent to $235.9 billion from March’s upwardly revised figure of 1.9 percent, according to the advance report from the Department of Commerce. Durable goods are manufactured products that are expected to last at least three years. Transportation orders led the increase with a jump of 8.9 […]
The following analysis was done by Peter Wright who writes a number of analytical articles for Steel Market Update. The energy markets are key markets for steel so it is important for our readers to understand oil and gas prices as well as the tubular products associated with drilling and transportation of oil and gas. […]
US Steel has spearheaded an attempt to exclude all Chinese steel products from the U.S. market. But as is usually the case with drastic actions, there are a number of opponents to the move. Companies that use foreign steel in their products have asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to throw the complaint out. Steel […]
The May 12 MID-SHIP Report indicated the freight market took a downward turn last week. Capesize vessels hauling iron ore from West Australia to China dropped to $3.60 per tonne from a recent high of $4.50 per ton. Panamax, Handysize and Supermax also slid downward during the week. Said MID-SHIP in a tongue twisting turn […]
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 March 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 March 2016 decreased 21.6 percent […]
According to Baker Hughes data from May 13, 2016, the U.S rig count for the week was 406 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is a decrease of 9 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 10 to 318 rigs, gas rigs up 1 to 87 rigs, and […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. March data was released on Monday May 2nd. Construction Put in Place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for a given month from a sample of projects. In […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday in their analysis of non-farm employment that 160,000 jobs were added in April, down from 208,000 in March. February and March were revised down by a total of 19,000. An explanation of the BLS report is included at the end of this piece. The three month […]
According to Baker Hughes data from May 6, 2016, the U.S rig count for the week was 415 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is a decrease of 5 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 4 to 328 rigs, gas rigs down 1 to 86 rigs, and […]
There have been many comments made in the press recently regarding the opinions of analysts and consultants as to how long the current flat rolled price environment will last.The Pittsburgh Post published an article by Len Boselovic entitled: “Heard off the Street: Analysts: steel price hike may not last.” This article, which quotes one of […]
The Associated General Contractors of America, on May 1, released their March analysis of construction spending. Construction spending in March 2016 was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.138 trillion. SMU looked back at past March analyses and found an upward trend in spending for the month. In March 2014 construction spending totaled $943 […]
Olympic Steel reported a narrower than expected net loss of $767,000 for first quarter 2016. Revenues were $258.3 million compared to $346 million in Q1 2015 due to lower prices and volume. First quarter shipments increased, however 16 percent from fourth quarter 2015 recapturing market share from last year’s declining marketplace. “We successfully navigated challenging […]
The Chicago Business Barometer, or Chicago PMI, dropped 3.2 points to 50.4 in April indicating a slow start to the second quarter. New orders and order backlogs both fell sharply during the month. Inventories, which have been relatively stable in the past few months, increased to their highest point since October 2015 but were still […]