Steel Markets
Canada Housing Permits Muted
Written by Sandy Williams
June 7, 2014
Building permit values in Canada rose 1.1 percent to $6.0 billion in April following two months of decline. Building intentions for the residential sector offset the decline in nonresidential.
Commercial sector permit values fell 14.8 percent to $1.3 billion in April. The decline followed a 0.3 percent gain the previous month and put commercial permit values at the lowest level since March 2013.
Authorized permits for residential dwellings in April totaled 15,416, a 3.2 percent decline from the previous month. Multifamily permits declined by 6 percent to 9,641 units while single-family authorizations rose 2 percent to 5, 775 units.
From January to April 2014 63,851 units were authorized, compared to 64,147 in the same period in 2013. Multifamily units accounted for 63 percent of residential permit authorizations in the first four months of this year.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation expects housing starts to range between 172,300 and 189,900 units in 2014 and 160,600 to 203,600 units in 2015.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets
HVAC shipments slip in September but are still trending higher
Following a strong August, total heating and cooling equipment shipments eased in September to a five-month low, according to the latest data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).
GrafTech Q3 loss widens as electrode demand remains soft
GrafTech International’s third-quarter net loss increased from last year, with the company anticipating continuing weakness in near-term demand for graphite electrodes.
Cliffs forecasts 2025 rebound after Q3’s weakest demand since Covid
The negative impact of high interest rates on consumer behavior, particularly in the automotive and housing sectors, was the primary driver of the demand weakness seen across the third quarter, according to Cleveland-Cliffs executives.
Primetals secures long-term maintenance deals in the Americas
Primetals Technologies renewed two long-term maintenance service contracts with steel producers in the Americas.
Steel imports slip 10% from August to September
September marked the lowest month for steel imports so far this year, according to preliminary Census data released by the Commerce Department.