U.S. auto sales slipped in September as leading Asian automakers Toyota and Honda reported double-digit declines. Toyota sales fell 16.5 percent and Honda, after a record August, saw sales drop 14.1 percent. Nissan reported a 17.6 percent plunge in sales. Subaru ended an amazing 93-month run of sales increases with a 9.4 percent drop in […]
Construction spending edged up 0.1 percent in August from July but declined from year-ago levels, with divergent trends in residential and nonresidential categories, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new federal spending data. Association officials said that many contractors in its recent survey report that staffing challenges are causing […]
Last week, President Trump revoked the federal waiver that had allowed California to set vehicle emissions standards that are more restrictive than the federal standards. California and 22 other states quickly sued the Trump administration in federal court over the states’ rights to protect their own air quality. The president’s move sets in motion a […]
New home sales rose a solid 7.1 percent in August and jumped 18 percent from a year ago, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales in August were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 713,000. “With job growth continuing and lower interest rates in […]
Price growth continues to slow in the housing market, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index for July 2019 reported an average annual gain of 3.2 percent, unchanged from June. The 20-City composite posted a 2.0 percent gain from 2.2 percent in the prior […]
The strike by United Auto Workers at General Motors is disrupting sister operations in Canada. As Day 5 of the strike began Friday, GM Canada announced layoffs for more than 2,500 of its workers. Union leaders expect further reductions next week. General Motors Canada laid off about 1,200 workers at the assembly plant in Oshawa […]
A workforce shortage continues to impede gains in construction employment, says the Associated General Contractors of America. Thirty-nine states added construction jobs between August 2018 and August 2019, while construction employment increased in 29 states from July to August, according to AGC’s latest analysis of Labor Department data. “Even more states probably would have posted […]
The strike by 48,000 members of the United Auto Workers against General Motors extended through its fourth day on Thursday with reports of some progress, but much negotiation still to come. Suppliers to the nation’s largest automaker are reportedly starting to feel the effects of cancelled deliveries and lost sales, with some announcing layoffs and […]
Housing starts rebounded in August, jumping 12.3 percent from July and 6.6 percent from a year ago to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,364,000. Multifamily construction surged 30.9 percent and single-family starts 4.4 percent from July. “Housing has been on an upswing in recent months as the pace of permits and starts has been […]
Existing home sales grew for the second consecutive month with three U.S. regions reporting higher gains, said the National Association of Realtors. Sales rose 1.3 percent from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.49 million in August. Sales were up 2.6 percent from a year ago. Sales of single-family homes rose 2.9 percent […]
Builder confidence hit a one-year high in September, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The HMI, which measures builder perceptions of current and future sales of new single-family homes, rose one point to 68. The HMI index gauging current sales conditions increased two points to 75 and the component measuring traffic of […]
United Auto Workers called for a strike at General Motors beginning at 11:59 p.m. tonight, Sunday, Sept. 15. On Saturday evening, UAW Vice President Terry DIttes announced there would be no extension of the current 2015 collective bargaining agreement. “We stood up for General Motors when they needed us most. Now we are standing together […]
A potential strike by janitorial workers at General Motors may cause disruption at five GM plants, if autoworkers don’t strike first. The United Auto Workers is ending a contract extension on Saturday, Sept. 14, with janitorial services company Aramark, which coincides with the expiration of auto worker contracts with GM, Ford and FCA. Should a […]
Planning activity for nonresidential construction declined in August, according to the latest report issued by Dodge Data & Analytics. The Dodge Momentum Index slid 1.3 percent to 127.8 last month primarily due to a 16.6 percent decline in the institutional component that offset a 9.1 percent gain in the commercial component. The index is a […]
Employment gains fell short of expectations in August with only 130,000 new nonfarm jobs reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. Construction employment accounted for 14,000 jobs last month and 177,000 in the past 12 months, according to the latest analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Ken Simonson, the association’s chief […]
July heating and cooling equipment shipments came in at 1.81 million units for the month, up 0.4 percent over the same month one year ago, according to data recently released by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). This is the first month that total monthly equipment shipments have increased on a year-over-year basis since […]
August U.S. auto sales, minus the non-reporting Detroit Big 3, grew 12.2 percent from a year ago. Sales were strong for Asian manufacturers with most reporting double digit gains. Honda led the sales increase in August posting an 18 percent gain year-over-year. Nissan was next at 13 percent, followed by Hyundai at 12 percent and […]
Construction spending was essentially flat in July, inching up less than 0.1 percent from June, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Spending slid 2.7 percent from a year ago to a total seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.289 trillion. Year-to-date, spending declined by 2.1 percent […]
Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data released Sept. 3 by the Commerce Department shows the first decline in total construction in nearly eight years. Through July, total construction has had negative momentum every month since October last year, and in June and July total construction declined for the first time since November 2011, according to Steel […]
The United Auto Workers has chosen General Motors as the lead company for labor negotiations that will set the pattern for 2019 discussions. Contracts at the Detroit Big 3 will expire at midnight on Sept. 14. “We are focused. We are prepared. And we are all ready to stand up for our members, our communities […]
Contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers and Ford, GM and FCA are facing unwanted outside pressures. As a precautionary strike vote is being taken at UAW locals, the FBI reportedly raided homes of UAW presidents in Ohio, California, Wisconsin, Missouri and Michigan as part of a government investigation into bribery allegations. United Auto Workers […]
Eighty percent of contractors report difficulty filling hourly craft positions, according to a new survey by the Associated General Contractors of America. Only 4 percent expect hiring conditions to be easier in the next 12 months. “Workforce shortages remain one of the single most significant threats to the construction industry,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, AGC’s […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive-level members. For more information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. North American auto production exhibited the normal slowdown in July. This report is based on data from LMC Automotive for automotive assemblies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The breakdown of […]
New home sales fell 12.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 635,000 from June’s revised rate of 728,000, acccording to the latest report from Commerce. Sales increased 4.3 percent from a year ago and were 4.1 percent higher on a year-to-date basis. The revision to sales was notable due to the upward rise […]
Home buyers in the U.S. bought more existing homes in July as mortgage rates continued to ease. The National Association of Realtors reports that existing-home sales rose 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.42 million after dipping in June. On a year-over-year basis, existing home sales were 0.6 percent higher last month. […]
Housing starts in July dipped 4.0 percent from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,184,000, but were 0.6 percent higher than a year ago, reports the U.S. Department of Commerce. Single-family housing starts gained 1.3 percent from the previous month, while starts for buildings with five units or more fell 17.2 percent. “Despite […]
Construction jobs are plentiful but the industry says more workers are needed. The number of new jobs available indicates there is a need for new federal investments in career and technical education programs, along with immigration reform, said the Associated General Contractors of America.. Forty states added construction jobs between July 2018 and July 2019, […]
June heating and cooling equipment shipments came in at just over 2.1 million units for the month, down 5.8 percent over the same month one year ago, according to data recently released by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). This is the third consecutive month that total monthly equipment shipments have declined on a […]
A leading index for nonresidential construction is continuing a downward trend that started in mid-2018. The Dodge Momentum Index fell 4.6 percent last month to a reading of 138.9. The index by Dodge Data & Analytics is a measure of the first report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead […]
U.S. auto sales appeared to do well in July despite some cooling of the market. Toyota, Honda, Subaru and Hyundai all posted gains for the month. Although Ford, General Motors and FCA no longer report monthly data, analysts suggest that the Big Three also saw sales increase in July. Cox Automotive said the auto market […]