Economy
Government Shutdown Impact on Steel Market Update
Written by Peter Wright
October 3, 2013
Effect of the government shutdown on information flow: about half of the data that we at SMU use to evaluate the state of and direction of the steel market is produced by government agencies and is publicly available. The current nature of things was brought home to us on Tuesday when we attempted to access the Department of Commerce Manufacturing, Mining and Construction statistics homepage and found the following message; “Due to the lapse in government funding, census.gov sites, services, and all online survey collection requests will be unavailable until further notice. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at <usa.gov>.”
For the next couple of weeks as our “leaders” come to terms with their responsibilities we at SMU will take the opportunity to review the existing data in our files and dig deeper into some aspects that we have not covered in detail previously. The piece included below on non residential construction and the effect of the recession on private and government funded projects is an example of what we have in mind.
As far as an immediate effect on the steel industry is concerned we believe the shutdown will have little effect except that trade case activity will be on hold. In the longer term the inevitable effect of this fiasco on consumer confidence will depress consumer spending, GDP and consequent steel consumption.
Peter Wright
Read more from Peter WrightLatest in Economy
ISM: US manufacturing poised for growth in 2025
“Manufacturers are optimistic,” said Timothy R. Fiore, chair of ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
New York state manufacturing activity stable in December
Following a substantial recovery in November, business activity in New York state’s manufacturing sector held steady in December, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Ternium chief say Mexico tariffs ‘irrational’
Vedoya said the proposed tariffs are "an irrational measure that would harm both their own industry and ours."
Slowing data center, warehouse planning drives decline in Dodge index
The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) slid further in November as planning for data centers and warehouses continued to decline.
Beige Book shows some positive economic activity
Still, many businesses noted increased sensitivity to prices and quality among customers.