Housing starts jumped 25.5 percent in October from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,323,000. Starts of multifamily structures of 5 units or more leapt 74.5 percent from the previous month for a rate of 445,000 and were up 28.2 percent year over year. Single family housing starts grew 10.7 percent from September […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. September data for CPIP was released on Tuesday November 1st. On a rolling 3 months basis year over year total construction has declined every month since March when growth was 12.4 […]
General Motors announced on Wednesday that it will lay off more than 2000 employees at its Lansing Grand River and Lordstown assembly plants. GM said it will “align production with demand” as customers continue to shift from cars to crossovers and trucks. The third shift will be suspended indefinitely at both locations beginning in mid-January. […]
The Premium article below was originally produced for our Premium members on Wednesday afternoon. Over the last couple of days SMU has had conversations with a number of our members regarding our views on the construction markets. This is an analysis which was shared with our Premium level members yesterday and we have decided to […]
Nonresidential construction planning took a jump in October, according to the latest survey by Dodge Data and Analytics. The Dodge Momentum Index grew 4.1 percent in October to 133.6, nearly reversing September’s loss. Commercial planning increased by 6.1 percent sequentially and by 20 percent year-over-year. “This suggests that despite being in a more mature phase […]
Below is the latest release issued by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through August 2016. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for August 2016 increased 9.6 percent […]
Construction demand in the private sector is driving increases in construction employment and offsetting declines in public sector jobs, said the Associated General Contractors of America in their November press release. Residential construction employment grew 5.4 percent year-over-year in October while nonresidential construction jobs grew 1.4 percent. AGC notes that public construction needs the support […]
US auto sales were at their highest seasonally adjusted annual rate of the year. However, Ward Auto’s SAAR estimate of 17.9 million marked the third month that the SAAR declined year-over-year. The October 2015 rate was 18.1 million. The year-to-date SAAR was 17.3 million, unchanged from the 10 month total in 2015, according to Wards, […]
Gibraltar Industries, as a leading manufacturer and distributor of building products, has close ties to the steel industry. In the third quarter earnings call, Gibraltar Senior Vice President and CFO Ken Smith was asked about how the company is handling the recent steel price increase. Steel increases are monitored multiple times day across the Gibraltar […]
Home prices in August rose by 5.3 percent annually in August according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. The 20-city composite gained 5.1 percent annually. Portland, Seattle and Denver drove gains during the past seven months. On a month-over-month basis the National Index showed a 0.5 percent increase in August. […]
New home sales rose 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000 in September, according to data from U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Compared to a year ago, sales of single-family houses increased 29.8 percent. The increase follows downward revisions to June, July and August. The median […]
Ford Motor Co. announced last week it will temporarily idle four plants including the Kansas City assembly plant that produces the F-150 pickup truck. The temporary shutdowns are a result of a slowdown in the market and will help Ford match production to demand as well as meet end-of-year inventory targets. In the U.S., the […]
The Architecture Billings Index posted two months of decline with September’s score of 48.4 dipping from 49.7 in August. The American Institute of Architects report this is the first time since Summer 2012 that the index posted consecutive months of decline. The new projects inquiry dropped to 59.4 from 61.8 and the design contracts index […]
Housing starts dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,047,000 in September, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The decline was 9 percent below August’s revised estimate and 11.9 percent below the September 2015 rate. Single family housing starts increased from August by 8.1 percent to 783,000. Starts for apartment housing of five […]
The Dodge Momentum Index dropped 4.3 percent in September to a reading of 129.0 after making gains for five consecutive months. A reduction in institutional planning drove the decline, falling 5.3 percent last month. Planning for commercial construction projects declined 3.6 percent from August. Writes Dodge Analytics: “Even with the recent volatility on a month-to-month […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. August data for CPIP was released on Monday October 3rd. Overall this was a disappointing report with the growth of total construction having declined for five consecutive months and continuing to […]
WardsAuto reports total volume for U.S. light vehicle sales in September was 1.428 million units, down 0.7 percent from a year ago. The seasonally adjusted annual rate for September rebounded to 17.7 million units from August’s total of 16.9 million, but was below the 18 million mark reached in September 2015. Most automotive manufacturers reported […]
Construction sector recovery may be at a plateau, says Stephen Sandherr , CEO of the Associated General Contractors of America. The press release from AGC for August construction spending follows: Construction spending held steady in August compared to July but is up nearly five percent for the first eight months of the year compared to […]
On Friday Steel Market Update spoke with a number of trading companies as well as end users who are impacted by the circumvention complaint filed against cold rolled and coated steels coming out of Vietnam. The contention of the domestic mills is that the surge of Vietnamese flat rolled comes at the same time as […]
United Steelworkers at Cliffs Natural Resources ratified a new 3-year labor contract today. The contract is effective retroactively as of October 1, 2015 and will run through September 30, 2018. The agreement covers approximately 2,000 USW represented employees at Cliffs’ mines in Michigan and Minnesota. USW International President Leo Gerard praised USW members for their […]
Sales of new single-family homes fell 7.6 percent month-over-month but were 20.6 percent higher on a year-over-year basis, according to data released by the Department of Commerce. August sales were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 609,000, compared to the upwardly revised rate of 659,000 in July and 505,000 in August 2015. The August dip was […]
Home prices continued to grow in July according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices. On a year-over-year basis, the National Index rose 5.1 percent in July, up from 5 percent in June. The 20-City composite reported a year-over-year gain of 5.0 percent, compared to 5.1 percent in June. Home prices in Portland, Seattle and […]
Vehicles sales in the US are settling in to a more sustainable pace, but a strengthening labor market, low interest rates, low gasoline prices, and rising incentives are still supportive of strong demand. Moody’s Analytics expects the pace of light vehicle sales to be above a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 17 million units […]
Existing home sales declined for the second month in a row, falling 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.33 million in August. The National Association of Realtors suggests higher home prices and tight inventory kept buyers at bay last month, despite low mortgage rates. “Healthy labor markets in most the country should […]
The Architecture Billings Index dipped to 49.7 in August from 51.5 in July. The Northeast average dropped to 44.9 which pulled the headline index down. “This is only the second month this year where demand for architectural services has declined and it is only by a fraction of a point,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit […]
Housing starts were down 5.8 percent from July to August. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,142,000, 0.9 percent higher than year ago levels. Single family starts were down 6.0 percent and multi-family down 6.9 percent. The housing starts […]
Below is the latest release issued by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through July 2016. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for July 2016 increased 3.0 percent […]
The Dodge Momentum Index rose 1.3 percent in August to 134.9. Institutional construction planning gained 1.7 percent last month and commercial planning 1.0 percent. The index has made gains for five consecutive months. The Momentum Index is up 16 percent from August 2015 due to a 22 percent growth in institutional planning and 22 percent […]
The duties on automotive steel from Korea due to antidumping (AD) may affect pricing of vehicles at Hyundai and Kia here in the U.S. Dumping and countervailing duties have been determined by the Department of Commerce on imports of Korean coated, hot-rolled, and cold-rolled steel. Hyundai Steel, part of Hyundai Group, exports approximately 545,000 tons […]
U.S. automotive sales took a 4.1 percent dip in August as demand softened after record breaking sales in 2015. Sales totaled 1.506 million vehicles last month, according to final tally by Wards Auto. The seasonally adjusted annual rate fell short of expectations at 16.9 million, well below July’s SAAR of 17.8 million and the August […]