Building permits authorizations for construction of single and multi-family dwellings in Canada fell 23.8 percent in February and 0.6 percent year over year, according to data by Statistics Canada. Total permits were 14,011 units compared with 18,398 in January and 15,650 in December. Multi-family authorizations fell sharply during the month to 8,289 units, plummeting 29.3 […]
The Senate Finance Committee passed a bill on Thursday that would restore key tax credits for the wind industry. The renewable energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit were included in the Committee’s final tax extender package after the PTC was passed over in the first draft. Sen. Michael Bennett (D-Colo.) sponsored the […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its construction put in place (CPIP) data on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. February data was released on April 1st. Total Construction: February expenditures were $63.369 billion which breaks down to $46.647 B of private work, $14.945 B state and locally financed and $1.777 B […]
Steel producers and distributors can expect an influx of orders for steel plate for rail tank cars in the next several years. After several serious tanker accidents involving crude oil transport, the Association of American Railroads Tank Car Committee (AARTCC) and Railway Supply Institute Committee on Tank Cars (RSICTC) have each submitted higher safety standard […]
According to Baker Hughes data from April 4th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,818 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 9 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 11 to 1,498 rigs, gas rigs down 2 to 316 rigs, […]
US automotive sales reached 1.53 million units in March besting estimates by WardsAuto who pegged sales at 1.48 million units. Projected sales for the year rose to 16.38 million. Lingering winter weather kept consumers away from dealerships early in the month but sales picked up in the latter half to finish strong. GM CEO Mary […]
According to Baker Hughes data from March 28th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,809 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 6 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 14 to 1,487 rigs, gas rigs down 8 to 318 rigs, […]
Sales of new single-family homes dropped in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000 according to estimates by the Commerce Department. Sales were 3.3 percent below the revised January rate of 455,000 and 1.1 percent below the February 2013 estimate of 445,000. Sales on a three month moving average were 445,000, up slightly […]
SMU’s John Temples attended the Platts Steel Market’s North America Conference this week. Panelist focused on market forecast, natural gas, service center operations, and a healthy dose of business promotion. One discussion of interest was on the recovery and outlook of the construction sector. Throughout the conference, many people were optimistic about the non-residential construction […]
According to Baker Hughes data from March 21st, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,803 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is a decrease of 6 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 12 to 1,473 rigs, gas rigs down 18 to 326 rigs, […]
Light vehicle sales in both January and February were depressed by the unusually bad weather in the North. This applied to both retail and fleet sales. The annualized sales total of autos + light trucks in February was 15.4 million units. Sales are expected to rebound to greater than a 16 million unit annual rate […]
Existing home sales were quiet in February, declining a scant 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.60 million in February from 4.62 million in January, reported the National Association of Realtors. Year-over-year sales fell 7.1 percent from the same period in 2013. The February pace was at its lowest rate since July […]
In February total building permits exceeded total starts by 38,000 units which would seem at first glance to be a good sign. However digging down into the data reveals a much more complex situation in this market. The two sub sectors, single and multi-family units are behaving differently. Single family permits were 12,000 less than […]
The confidence level for home builders rose by one point to 47 in the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for March. Builders are concerned about meeting demand due to a shortage of buildable lots and difficulty in finding skilled workers. Of additional concern, said said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe, are […]
According to Baker Hughes data from March 14th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,809 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 17 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 18 to 1,461 rigs, gas rigs down 1 to 344 rigs, […]
The The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) released January shipment data for water heaters, furnaces and air conditioners. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for January 2014 increased 2.2 percent, to 370,850 units, up from 363,004 units shipped in January 2013. Residential electric storage water heater shipments increased 7.3 […]
According to Baker Hughes data from March 7th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,792 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 23 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 13 to 1,443 rigs, gas rigs up 10 to 345 rigs, […]
Canadian building permit value rose 8.5 percent in January to $7.0 billion after falling 4.8 percent in December. Higher building intentions in the residential sector more than offset building declines in the non-residential sector. Building permits for residential construction increased to 18,366 units in January from 15,650 in December 2013. Single family dwellings permit authorization […]
Winter weather weakened auto sales for a second month. February sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.29 million in February from a nine month low of 15.2 million in January. Sales fell below analyst consensus of 15.4 million and IHS forecast of 15.5 million. WardsAuto estimates inclement weather pushed sales down by […]
Construction spending in January rose 9.3 percent year-over-year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $943 billion, according to data released by the US Census Bureau. Construction spending was 0.1 percent higher than the revised SAAR of $941.9 billion in December 2013. Private construction spending rose 0.5 percent to a SAAR of $670.8 billion from […]
We are producing two articles on construction expenditures this evening. The one below is written by Peter Wright and delves into a much deeper analysis than our previous article. This is one of our Premium Level articles and gives you an idea of some of the content we share with our Premium Level members. Each […]
According to Baker Hughes data from February 28th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,769 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is a decrease of 2 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 5 to 1,430 rigs, gas rigs down 7 to 335 rigs, […]
Honda began production of the 2015 Honda Fit last week at its new Honda de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (HDM) plant, located in Celaya, Guanajuato. The plant will increase Honda’s annual automotive production capacity in North America to around 1.92 million units. Currently 90 percent of Hondas sold in the US are built in North […]
In 12 months through January 16,126,151 light vehicles and 440,473 medium and heavy trucks were assembled in the NAFTA. On a rolling 12 month basis year over year (y/y) light vehicle assemblies were up by 5.2 percent. In 3 months through January y/y the increase was 2.6 percent. Momentum is negative since the short term […]
It’s hard to sell cars when they are covered by snow and customers are being warned to stay safe and snug at home. As a result, auto dealers watched sales freeze and inventory pile up in January. Total auto inventory increased to 3.61 million units at the end of January, the highest it’s been in […]
Total housing starts in January were down 16 percent from December and 20.1 percent from November with very little difference between single and multi-family construction. That is the news headline but on a closer analysis the situation is not so dire. On a three month moving average basis the recent results form only a slight […]
Gibraltar Industries is expecting 2014 growth to be driven mainly by the residential new construction and residential remodeling said the company in its earnings call on Feb. 20. “While we’re starting 2014 at a relatively slow pace given the cold and harsh weather in much of the country since the new year, we believe the […]
The Volkswagen AG workers at the Chattanooga automotive assembly plant voted 712 to 626 against unionizing on Friday, Feb. 14. The defeat is a major setback for the UAW which has seen dwindling membership in the last several years. The UAW’s membership has fallen from a peak of 1.5 million in 1979 to just around […]
U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for December 2013 increased 10.4 percent, to 398,059 units, up from 360,568 units shipped in December 2012. Residential electric storage water heater shipments increased 7.2 percent in December 2013, to 348,872 units, up from 325,435 units shipped in December 2012. For the year-to-date, U.S. shipments of residential […]
According to Baker Hughes data from February 14, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,764 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is a decrease of 7 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 7 to 1,423 rigs, gas rigs down 14 to 337 rigs, […]