US plate prices were mostly flat this week, but more erosion could be on the horizon now that Nucor announced another round of price cuts. SMU’s most recent check of the market on Tuesday, Nov. 29 placed plate prices between $1,480-1,620 per ton with an average of $1,550 per ton FOB mill east of the […]
US manufacturing activity contracted in November for the first time since May 2020, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The ISM’s November manufacturing PMI dipped below the neutral 50.0 mark — the level that typically divides expansion from contraction. It was slowed as new orders remained in contraction territory, while prices fell further […]
Nearly three-quarters of US metro areas added construction jobs year-over-year (YoY) through October, according to Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) figures. Despite the employment boost, job vacancies outpaced hiring as construction firms struggled to find enough qualified workers to hire, the report said. Construction employment increased in 268, or 75%, of 358 metro areas […]
The US economy’s growth was stronger than expected in the third quarter, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said in its latest report. Gross Domestic Production (GDP) accelerated to a 2.9% annualized pace in Q3. That’s an improvement from the initial government reading in October which showed 2.6% growth in economic activity. […]
US consumer confidence slipped again in November, declining for the second straight month amid ongoing high inflation and rising interest rates. Despite the weaker outlook, household spending has had a generally healthy start to winter holiday shopping, The Conference Board reported. The headline Consumer Confidence Index fell by two points in November to a reading […]
Stelco Holdings Inc. intends to increase spot prices for carbon steel sheet by at least CAD $80 per ton (USD $60 per ton or $4 per cwt). The move is effective immediately, the company said in a letter to customers on Tuesday, Nov. 29, and applies equally to all new orders of hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and […]
US Steel Corp. will keep the No. 3 blast furnace at its Mon Valley Works near Pittsburgh idled until market dynamics improve, a company spokeswoman confirmed to SMU. The blast furnace was originally taken offline on Aug. 30 for a month-long planned maintenance outage. The shotcrete (sprayed concrete) reline was completed on Saturday, Sept. 24. […]
US Steel Corp. aims to increase spot prices for carbon steel sheet by at least $60 per ton ($3 per cwt). The move is effective immediately, the company said in a press release on Monday, Nov. 28, and applies equally to all new orders of hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and coated steel products in North America. This […]
Raw steel production by US mills fell further last week, bringing output to its lowest weekly total all year. Last week’s result kept both utilization and production at their lowest levels since the week of Dec. 26, 2020, according to the latest data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Domestic steel output was […]
New orders for US-manufactured durable goods rose in October to a seasonally adjusted $277.4 billion. That figure has risen for seven out of the last eight months. Shipments picked up as well last month despite persistent inflation and global economic instability. Last month’s bookings for durable goods were up roughly 1%, or $2.8 billion more month-on-month […]
Demand for design services from US architectural firms declined in October. The drop came after the pace of growth had slowed in recent months. The October AIA Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score slipped below 50, ending a 20-month run of growth following the pandemic-induced downturn in 2020. Recall that the ABI is an advanced economic indicator for nonresidential […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. aims to increase spot prices for carbon steel sheet by at least $60 per ton ($3 per cwt). The move is effective immediately and applies equally to all new orders of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated products in North America, the company said in a press release on Monday, Nov. 28. The Cleveland-based company […]
World crude steel production declined month-on-moth (MoM) in October, driven almost singlehandedly by lower Chinese output. Global production was still, however, up 1.1% versus the same period last year, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel) data. October’s output lost ground when compared to September, down 2.9%, declining for the first time in three months. World […]
Global crude steel production was estimated at 147.3 million metric tons in October as output was up by 1.6 million metric tons — 1.1% higher than the same period last year, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) reported. Last month’s estimated production was down sequentially, however, declining by 2.9%, or by 4.4 million metric tons from September’s […]
Raw steel production by US mills edged back down last week. The marginal week-on-week (WoW) decline brought output to its lowest weekly total all year, keeping both utilization and output at their lowest levels in nearly two years, according to the latest data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Domestic steel output was […]
Existing-home sales declined in October, retreating for the ninth straight month, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). All four major US regions saw sales decline both month-on-month (MoM) and year-on-year (YoY) in October. October sales fell 5.9% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.43 million units. Total registered sales were […]
The outlook for multifamily construction closed the third quarter on a low note, as confidence in the market for new multifamily housing declined significantly during the period, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Multifamily Market Survey (MMS). The MMS’s two separate indices saw mixed results. The Multifamily Production Index (MPI) fell 10 […]
Just about half of US states added construction jobs in October, while a wave of job openings remained unfilled, according to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). AGC said that open positions at the end of September exceeded the total number of employees hired during October. The lack of qualified applicants last month led to […]
US plate prices were down marginally last week as spot tons garnered some discounting on limited demand. Plate tags have been eroding slowly in recent weeks with buyers largely on the sidelines. That’s a shift from late October and early November, when prices were roughly flat. Buyers’ focus remains almost exclusively on managing inventories as […]
Producer prices came in below expectations in October, adding to hopes that inflationary pressures are beginning to ease, the US Labor Department reported. Last month’s Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of the prices received for final-demand products, advanced just 0.2% month-on-month (MoM) and 8% from a year ago, the smallest annual gain in more […]
Housing starts fell by 4.2% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.43 million units, according to a report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Census Bureau. The decline came as elevated mortgage rates, rising construction costs, and waning demand stemming from high home costs drag on […]
The prices contractors pay for construction materials and services — chiefly for new nonresidential construction — jumped 20.2% year-on-year (YoY) in October and were up 3% month-on-month (MoM), the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported in its latest analysis of government data. AGC cautioned that higher construction costs could undermine demand for projects, and urged […]
Monthly Key Market Indicators (KMI) have steadily improved since reaching their most recent low in July, though steel buyer sentiment recently tumbled to a 26-month low, according to the latest analysis by Steel Market Update. Positive and neutral indicators have increased, while negatives have eased. Despite some recent improvements, present headwinds are still notable. The […]
Exceeding expectations, business activity in the state of New York improved in November, moving into positive territory for the first time in four months, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The New York Fed’s Empire State headline general business conditions index — a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state — recovered by 13.6 […]
North American auto assemblies rose by 8.7% in October, rebounding from a similar decline in September. Last month’s assembly output was the third-best total year-to-date (YTD) and nearly 22% higher year-on-year (YoY), according to LMC Automotive data. Though the market remains supply-constrained due to ongoing parts and supply shortages, production in October continued to show signs […]
US light vehicle (LV) sales grew in October, coming in at an unadjusted figure of 1.15 million units. Last month’s total was a 9.5% increase year-on-year (YoY), the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. October was the third consecutive month to see YoY increases in sales. Prior to August, YoY sales gains had not been […]
Raw steel production by US mills edged up last week, ending a three-week slide. The marginal week-on-week (WoW) increase did little for production, keeping utilization and output at their lowest levels in nearly two years, according to the latest data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Capability utilization has now been below the 80% […]
Housing costs continue to rise in the third quarter. New homes are now more expensive than they’ve been in more than a decade, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said. The result: the housing market has tipped into a recession. The trend has been driven by rising mortgage rates, ongoing building material supply chain […]
The construction industry added just 1,000 employees in October as firms competed to hire from a small labor pool, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported after analysis of new government data. The dynamic has continued to drive hourly wages higher, illustrating the struggle construction firms face in their search for qualified workers, the […]
Imported sheet and plate products arrived at US ports at a slower clip in September, accounting for a lower share of the domestic market for the third straight month. That’s according to a Steel Market Update analysis of import data from the US Commerce Department and domestic shipment figures from the American Iron and Steel […]