Steel Products
Canadian Housing Starts Slip in July
Written by Sandy Williams
August 16, 2013
Canadian housing starts in July fell slightly to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 192,853 units from 193,797 units in June. The decrease was 0.5 percent from June levels and 9.5 percent below housing starts in July 2012.
Urban starts for single units decreased by 5.5 percent to 58,732 units in July while urban multi-unit housing starts declined by a scant 0.2 percent to 114,311 units.
Housing construction surged during the spring and appears to be stabilizing said the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
“For the past few months, total housing starts have followed the stabilizing trend observed in sales of existing homes earlier this year,” said Mathieu Laberge, Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC. “As expected, the trends in the two market segments typically follow a similar pattern with the new home market lagging behind the existing home market by a few months.”
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Products
Nucor raises plate prices by $40/ton, cites market conditions
Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group was raising prices for as-rolled, discrete, cut-to-length, and normalized plate “in response to current market conditions.” The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Tuesday, Feb. 4, after market close, that it would be seeking an increase of $40 per short ton (st). Nucor […]
Domestic, offshore CRC prices diverge
The price spread between US-produced cold-rolled (CR) coil and offshore products narrowed again in the week ended Jan. 31, as imports edged higher and US product ticked lower.
US HR price premium over imports widens
Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices ticked up in the US this week, while tags abroad were mixed. The result: the margin US hot band holds over imports on a landed basis widened slightly.
Plate report: Mills pushing price up, but still willing to talk
Repeated mill price hikes this week may have stopped the bleeding and could signal a rebound.
Higher tags expected for February scrap settle
The US scrap market sentiment has become more bullish over the last week. Many districts are telling SMU that the potential rise in prices will exceed the earlier estimate of $20 per gross ton (gt). Several sources have pegged the February market as up $30-50/gt. Here are several regional viewpoints from the trade: In the […]