Metalforming companies are expecting a slight improvement in business conditions over the next three months, according to the December survey by the Precision Metalforming Association. PMA says low fuel prices may help offset manufacturing costs. Low gas prices may also push surging auto sales into 2015. The December report follows: CLEVELAND, OH—December 18, 2014—According to […]
Production in November on a tons per day basis was 4.351 million tonnes, down from 4.411 in October. November had one fewer production day than October and the month’s total decreased from 136.363 million to 130.525 tons. Since January 2008 on average, November monthly production has decreased by 5.36 percent, this year November decreased by […]
As we approach the end of the year we begin to think about what is ahead of us for 2015. Will we see the massive amounts of foreign steel continue to flood the domestic (USA) market or will buyers back off as domestic prices slide closer to foreign offers? The expectation is for demand to […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) released their Steel Buyers Sentiment Index this afternoon. Sentiment, which is a measure as to how buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful in the current market environment, rose 4 points from the beginning of December and is now at +56. Positive (+) […]
Worthington Industries reported an increase in sales for the second quarter of its 2015 fiscal year ending November 30, 2014. Sales of $871 million, however, could not offset weakness in the company’s Engineered Cabs and Oil & Gas sectors. Net earnings fell to $29.5 million from $44.2 million in the previous quarter but surpassed Q2 […]
We saw prices slipping in hot rolled and cold rolled steels over the past seven days. We are seeing offers on benchmark hot rolled below the $600 per ton level. One service center who is usually a coated only buyer told SMU that they purchased a small amount of hot rolled and they had offers […]
Below is the latest data issued by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through October 2014. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for October 2014 increased 5.2 percent, […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP index was reported as 106.66 for November an increase of 1.26 percent from October. The three month moving average (3MMA) was 105.75 which was the highest value ever and the sixth straight month where the growth of the 3MMA exceeded […]
The currency markets continue to be dominated by a strengthening dollar and a weakening of third world currencies in particular. Hyun Song Shin, who chief economist at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, gives a lot of thought to the implications of the current situation. In recent presentations at the Brookings Institution, Mr. Shin […]
According to Baker Hughes data from December 12th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,893 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is a decrease of 27 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 29 to 1,546 rigs, gas rigs up 2 to 346 rigs, […]
Today’s hot rolled, ferrous scrap and iron ore futures article comes to us from Andre Marshall, CEO of Crunch Risk LLC and the instructor for Steel Market Update’s Managing Price Risk I and Managing Price Risk II workshops. Along with HRC, iron ore and BUS trading. Andre also discusses the S&P 500, copper and crude […]
Railroad traffic increased in November for both carload and intermodal volume. Class 1 freight railroads carried 1,161,820 carloads in November, up 1.4 percent year-over-year, according the American Association of Railroads. Intermodal traffic in increased by 2.7 percent with a weekly average volume of 258,765 containers and trailers for the month, the highest level in history […]
For the past four days Steel Market Update (SMU) has been attending and speaking at the HARDI annual conference in San Antonio, Texas. One of the highlights of the conference were the presentations provided by Alan Beaulieu, one of the principal partners of the Institute for Trend Research (ITR) and the chief economist for HARDI. […]
Total October steel imports were recently finalized by the US Department of Commerce at 4,441,271 net tons (4,029,058 metric tons), surpassing the previous high of 4,417,811 tons in August 1998. October had been on pace to be a high tonnage month, but previous preliminary data figures were a few thousand tons shy of breaking the […]
Low oil prices are giving truck carriers a break through diesel rates that are at their lowest level since February 2011. The average U.S. diesel price was $3.535/gallon as of December 8, 2014, a drop of $.34 from a year ago. Fuel savings add up during winter months when storms can cause delays and idling […]
Ports around the U.S. report steel shipments continue to be strong but congestion at the terminals remains a problem. In the Port of New Orleans iron and steel imports totaled 2.2 million tons in the first eight months of this year—up 84.8 percent from the same period in 2013. “We don’t have November numbers as […]
According to Baker Hughes data from December 5th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,920 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 3 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 3 to 1,575 rigs, gas rigs unchanged at 344 rigs, and […]
The following article on the hot rolled futures market comes to SMU from contributing writer Bradley Clark, Director of Steel Trading for Kataman Metals. Hot rolled coil futures have been quite inactive the past week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. As activity picks back up, it appears the next move will be lower. The forward […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. announced on Tuesday the purchased of Fox Metals and Alloys, Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Fox Metals, based in Houston, Texas, is a steel distributor specializing in alloy, carbon and stainless steel bar and plate products, primarily servicing OEMs and machine shops supporting the oil, gas and petrochemical industries. “The […]
It has now been five weeks (October 28th) since AK Steel became the first domestic steel mill to announce a price increase on flat rolled steel. The relatively modest $20 per ton move was, in many steel buyers’ opinions, meant to stem the decline in steel prices. At that point in time benchmark hot rolled […]
Steel Market Update has written a number of articles about the Keystone Pipeline. The pipeline has not been completed due to politics and environmental issues. We received an article from Peter Brebach, CEO of Iron Angels of Colorado which takes a look at the other side of the issue from an economic and environmental perspective: […]
With crude oil prices breaking through $80 per barrel, all eyes are on the Baker Hughes rig count data. The question is will the lower oil prices affect the number of wells being drilled? Most assume there will be an impact, however, it could have a lag effect and take time before there is a […]
It has been a very quiet week due to the Thanksgiving Holiday here in the U.S. on Thursday. A number of service centers advised SMU that the number of inquiries had dramatically fallen off and there isn’t much need to buy steel at this time. The question isn’t so much where are prices this week […]
Preliminary October import figures show October as the second highest month in the 17 years worth of history we have at SMU. October steel imports were the highest figure since August 1998 when total imports were 4,417,811 net tons. We also address November 2014 imports which we believe will be approximately 3.7-3.8 million net tons […]
Last week Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted our mid-November flat rolled steel market survey. We invited approximately 600 companies to participate representing manufacturing, steel service centers, trading companies, steel mills, toll processors and suppliers to the steel industry. Last week’s participation mix was very similar to what we see on a regular basis with 46 […]
With crude oil prices breaking through $80 per barrel, all eyes are on the Baker Hughes rig count data. The question is will the lower oil prices affect the number of wells being drilled? Most assume there will be an impact, however, it could have a lag effect and take time before there is a […]
Today’s hot rolled, ferrous scrap and iron ore futures article comes to us from Andre Marshall, CEO of Crunch Risk LLC and the instructor for Steel Market Update’s Managing Price Risk I and Managing Price Risk II workshops. Along with HRC, iron ore and BUS trading Andre also discusses the S&P 500, copper and crude […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics, (BLS) puts out its series of producer price indexes, for thousands of goods and materials. The latest release on Tuesday reported October results. We run this analysis every three months to give readers an opportunity to become aware of any changes in the competitive position of steel against […]
Austrian international technology company ANDRITZ Group has acquired Herr-Voss Stamco in Callery, Pennsylvania for an undisclosed purchase price. The acquisition will enlarge ANDRITZ’s service and product offerings in the North American metals sector. Herr-Voss Stamco also serves a large customer base in the North American automotive, service center and oil/gas industries. Herr-Voss Stamco is supplier […]
US Steel announced a realignment of its reporting segments in order to meet strategic goals set forth in its Carnegie Way transformation. The North American flat-rolled segment will include creation of commercial entities to address specific markets. The realignment will take effect by January 1, 2015. “These commercial entities will put our company in a […]