US light vehicle (LV) sales grew in September, coming in at 1.15 million units, unadjusted. Last month’s total was a 10.8% increase year-on-year (YoY), the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. The YoY gain was just the second since July 2021. While this was the second consecutive month of YoY increases, it was helped […]
North American auto assemblies declined by 8.7% in September after reaching their highest mark in nearly two years the month prior. Despite the lower output in September, production was a hefty 39.6% higher year-on-year (YoY) and still the third-best total year-to-date (YTD), according to LMC Automotive data. Though the market remains supply-constrained due to ongoing […]
Total US mill shipments of steel products were down in August, slipping to their second-lowest total year-to-date (YTD). Mill shipments have been fluctuating up and down all year with little consistency. August’s shipments totaled 8.04 million tons, a 0.9% decline from July’s 8.11 million tons. Apparent supply also saw a month-on-month (MoM) decline in August, down 1.3% […]
What a difference a week can make. The lack of clarity in the short-to-medium-term direction presently in steel seems to be stumping maybe even the best and the brightest of flat-rolled buyers. And perhaps as Michael Cowden indicated in SMU’s prior Final Thoughts, the steel market might be somewhere in the middle — in-between bearish […]
Builder confidence fell for the tenth straight month in October, while traffic of prospective buyers fell to its lowest level since 2012 (excluding the two-month period at the onset of the pandemic), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said. The report, in conjunction with the Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), said that rising […]
Imported sheet and plate products arrived at US ports at a slower clip in August, resulting in them accounting for a lower share of the domestic market for the second straight month, according to a Steel Market Update analysis of import data from the US Commerce Department and domestic shipment figures from the American Iron […]
The apparent lack of change in US plate prices is fast approaching the one-month mark. Prices haven’t moved since Nucor announced a $120-per-ton ($6-per-cwt) price cut on discrete plate on Sept. 19. Despite the recent sideways trend, prices remain under pressure due to a lack of demand. But could potential imports usher in another round […]
ArcelorMittal has broken ground on its $1.8 billion CAD ($1.3 billion USD) project to decrease the carbon intensity of its steelmaking. The ground-breaking ceremony comes just about a year after the Hamilton, Ontario-based steelmaker announced the initial federal subsidy granted for the investment. ArcelorMittal Dofasco, a subsidiary of multinational ArcelorMittal SA, is working towards decreasing […]
A new labor pact between US Steel Corp. and the United Steelworkers (USW) union remains elusive, though some progress seems to have been made during the latest round of bargaining last week. The two sides, however, remain miles apart when it comes to major sticking points like wages, health care, retirement, and pensions, a USW […]
The prices contractors pay for construction materials and services — chiefly for new nonresidential construction — jumped 12.6% year-on-year (YoY) in September despite a slight 0.2% decline month-on-month (MoM), the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported in its latest analysis of government data. AGC cautioned that the industry is suffering mostly from inflation, and […]
US Steel has indefinitely idled the tin mill at its Gary Works in northwest Indiana, a company spokeswoman confirmed in an email to Steel Market Update on Thursday, Oct. 13. The move could be a prolonged one, upwards of six months, according to an unconfirmed report. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker had temporarily idled Gary’s No. 5 tin […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and the United Steelworkers (USW) union announced they have agreed to a new labor deal after USW members ratified the terms of a new, four-year collective agreement. The USW-represented employees — roughly 12,0000 across 13 Cliffs steelmaking facilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, and Minnesota — voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of […]
On Friday the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest report card on the US economy’s performance with its September jobs report. The results, though surprisingly upbeat, point to potentially more troublesome days ahead, both personally and collectively for the steel industry. So here are just a few thoughts to ponder as October nears […]
Raw steel production by US mills slipped back down last week, unable to maintain the slight uptick seen the week prior. Last week’s utilization also edged down compared to the previous week. Utilization rates haven’t eclipsed the 80% mark in 14 weeks, the longest run since the pandemic. Domestic steel output was 1,680,000 net tons in […]
Los Angeles-based JFE Shoji America Holdings Inc. successfully completed the acquisition of California Expanded Metal Products Co. (CEMCO), the company said in an Oct. 10 news release. The acquisition of the California-based cold-formed steel framing company expands JFE’s steel products business in the US. CEMCO will continue manufacturing products under the leadership of Tom Porter, CEMCO’s […]
The US labor market added 263,000 jobs in September, down for the second consecutive month but still better than expected. The result signals that the Federal Reserve will likely have to do more to slow it down. September was the slowest monthly gain in nearly a year and a half, according to the Bureau of […]
The US economy added 263,000 new jobs in September, slowing for the second straight month and marking the lowest monthly total since April 2021, according to data from the US Department of Labor. Despite the repeated decline in hiring, last month’s total was still solid by pre-pandemic standards and slightly ahead of the expected payroll […]
US plate prices have been unchanged for nearly three weeks. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t under pressure. Buyers remain mostly on the sidelines of the spot market and are working through inventories as demand slows to a crawl. The market has been quiet since Nucor announced a $120-per-ton ($6-per-cwt) price cut on discrete plate […]
The Dodge Momentum Index saw a sizable increase in September, accelerating by 5.7% last month over the upwardly revised reading for August, according to data and analytics from the Dodge Construction Network. The index registered 183.2 in September, up from 173.4 in August. The leading index for commercial real estate measures data about planned nonresidential […]
US Steel Corp. began construction on its $150 million direct-reduced-grade iron pellet plant in Keewatin, Minn., on Thursday, Oct. 5. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz joined US Steel’s President and CEO David Burritt, and other leadership members to celebrate the company’s project and tout its “commitment to produce products that are mined, melted and made in […]
The ongoing trend for steel sheet prices has remained mostly flat over the past several weeks, and this week was really no exception. We’ve seen a tightening of spreads between hot-rolled coil prices and those for cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume. And the trend of narrowing spreads is even more pronounced when it comes to plate. […]
The S&P Global US manufacturing PMI — another measure of manufacturing — edged up to 52 in September, up from 51.5 in August, recovering for the first time in three months after reaching its lowest level in two years. Last month’s recovery was driven by renewed expansions in output and new orders, though operating conditions across […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has completed its acquisition of Mexican ferrous and nonferrous scrap recycler Roca Acero SA de CV. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based EAF steelmaker did not disclose the purchase price but said the deal was paid for in cash. “Combined with our existing metals recycling facilities in Mexico, the addition of Roca significantly […]
US manufacturing activity grew at its slowest pace in nearly two-and-a-half years in September, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Though still expanding last month, manufacturing was slowed as new orders contracted amid aggressive interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve meant to cool demand and tame inflation. The ISM’s report also showed […]
The United Steelworkers (USW) union has rejected US Steel’s latest labor proposal as tensions boil over and the two sides seem nowhere near to reaching a new agreement. Union representatives called the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker’s latest proposal “a smack in the face” in a text sent to members on Sept. 29. Negotiations are now a month […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and the United Steelworkers (USW) union announced they have agreed to a new labor deal after members ratified the terms of a new, four-year collective agreement, the company and union said on Friday, Sept. 30. The USW-represented employees at Cliffs mining and pelletizing locations in northern Minnesota and in the Upper Peninsula of […]
The US economy declined at a revised -0.6% in the second quarter of 2022, matching the most recent GDP estimate and confirming the economy shrank in the first six months of the year, according to the second estimate from the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Gross domestic production (GDP) in Q2 contracted […]
Worthington Industries reported sharply lower profits in its fiscal 2023 first quarter results ended Aug. 31, 2022, despite a boost in sales. The Columbus, Ohio-based manufacturer and service center said the drop resulted largely from inventory holding losses at its steel processing division, which negatively impacted results by an estimated $48.6 million. All told, Worthington […]
New, single‐family home sales fell in September as rising mortgage rates stymied demand, according to a joint report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Census Bureau. Sales of newly constructed single-family homes fell 10.9% month-on-month (MoM) in September. Mortgage rates reached an average of 6.11% last month, while just […]
World crude steel production recovered slightly month-on-moth (MoM) in August but remained down roughly 4% versus the same period last year. August’s output gained marginal grown when compared to July, up 0.9%, recovering for the first time in three months, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel) data. Global output was estimated at 150.6 million metric […]