Auto assemblies in North America took a step back in January after seeing a strong end to 2020. Although the U.S. market continues to rebound from the effects of the pandemic, domestic light vehicle sales fell by 3.1% in January compared to year-ago levels, according to LMC Automotive (LMCA). Canada’s light vehicle sales were down […]
In order to slow climate change, steel and aluminum producers around the world will have to go through a fundamental transformation to reduce their greenhouse gases. CRU Group has developed an Emissions Analysis Tool to help them measure and control harmful GHG emissions. More than 700 participants logged into a Feb. 17 webinar to view […]
Soaring prices and delivery delays for steel, lumber and other materials are squeezing the finances of construction firms already burdened by the pandemic, said the Associated General Contractors of America. The trade group called on the Biden administration to review and rescind a range of trade tariffs, which it claims are contributing to unmanageable price […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills continues to fluctuate–up five of the last seven weeks–as the week ending Feb. 13 totaled 1,743,000 net tons, up 2.2% from the week prior when production was 1,705,000 tons. The mill utilization rate was 76.9%, up from 75.2% one week ago, yet down 5.5% compared with the same […]
Steel product shipments continued to improve through December, reporting an increase for the ninth consecutive month. Steel product shipments exceeded pre-pandemic levels to close out the year following a steady but slow rebound since reaching bottom in April 2020, according to Census Bureau data on inventories, shipments and new orders for total U.S. manufacturing and […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products. As of December 2020, imports’ share of total sheet products was 12.3%, up from 11.4% in November. The increase, albeit marginal, is notable as it’s the first increase for imports after declining for seven consecutive months following the most recent peak of 16.6% in […]
Total construction expenditures rose further in January to about $1.52 trillion, up 1.7% from December’s revised estimate of $1.50 trillion, reported the U.S. Census Bureau. The year-on-year comparison is rather remarkable, as the January figure is 5.8% above the year-ago, pre-pandemic estimate of $1.44 trillion. Although the economy is still in recovery mode, the construction sector continues to […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,705,000 net tons in the week ending Feb. 6, 2021, a decrease of 1.2 percent compared with the week prior when production was 1,725,000 net tons. Raw steel production in the early going of 2021 has fluctuated week on week. The average mill utilization rate dipped to 75.2 […]
Auto assemblies in North America bounced back robustly and surpassed pre-pandemic levels to close out 2020. Despite a production shutdown in March to stop the spread of COVID-19, U.S. auto sales ended the year just slightly below the initial 16.7 million forecast at 16.4 million units, according to LMC Automotive (LMCA). U.S. Vehicle Sales Figure […]
Total construction expenditures rose further in December 2020 to $1,490.4 billion, a 1.0 percent gain on the revised November estimate of $1,475.6 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Despite a health crisis that marred most of 2020, year on year the figure is 5.7 percent above the December 2019 estimate of $1,410.3 billion. The report goes […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,725,000 net tons in the week ending Jan. 30, resuming a positive move after a small dip the week prior. Production was up 0.5 percent from the week before when the total was 1,717,000 net tons. The mill utilization rate was 76.1 percent, up from 75.7 percent […]
Weekly raw steel output by U.S. mills, which had increased for the prior three weeks, took a small step back in the week ending Jan. 23 with total production of 1,717,000 net tons, down 1.6 percent from the week before. The mill utilization rate was 75.7 percent, down from 76.7 percent week on week and […]
Continuing the uptrend from last year, weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,738,000 net tons in the week ending Jan. 16, up 1.7 percent from the week prior when the total was 1,709,000 net tons. The mill utilization rate was 76.7 percent, up from 75.4 percent week on week, yet still down 8.8 […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products. As of November 2020, imports’ share of total sheet products was 11.4 percent, down from 11.8 percent in October. Imports’ share has been on a steady decline since its most recent peak of 16.6 percent this past May. The import share of […]
The upward trend in mill shipments and supply of sheet products continues, although the pace fell off as the fourth quarter carried on. After reaching bottom in June, as a result of the global pandemic, mill shipments and supply maintained a slow but steady upward trajectory through November 2020. This analysis is based on steel […]
This report is an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data and is intended to provide subscribers with a view of the competitive positions of sheet steel, aluminum, plastic and wood. The analysis includes some downstream products and a comparison of truck and rail transportation. On Jan. 15, the BLS released its series of […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,709,000 net tons in the week ending Jan. 9, up 3.6 percent from the week before when the total was 1,650,000 net tons. The mill utilization rate was 75.4 percent, up from 74.6 percent the week prior; however, down by 10.3 percent compared to the same week […]
U.S. consumer confidence continues to fall as global pandemic fatigue sets in and genuine relief still seems far away. Despite a slight correction and stability throughout the summer months, the composite value of consumer confidence, reported by The Conference Board, has now slipped repeatedly during the fourth quarter from 101.8 in September to 88.8 in […]
The economy lost 140,000 jobs in December after seeing repeated gains month on month since May, reported the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The pace of job additions had slowed significantly in November compared to October when additions were 245,000 and 638,000, respectively. The change in direction comes as the market enters the winter months and […]
Employment gains have slowed each month since June, and after a marginal increase in November, December employment numbers retracted for the first time since March, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. The net change in employed persons in December was a negative 140,000, following a disappointing […]
Overall, steel product shipments continued to improve through November, reporting an increase for the seventh consecutive month. Despite the gains, the improvement continues at a slower pace than the overall manufacturing economy. The market is still working to recover from the initial effects of the Covid-19 shutdowns back in April. As a result, despite the steady […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products. As of October 2020, imports’ share of total sheet products was 11.8 percent, down from 16.6 percent in May and from a recent high of 22.9 percent in 2015. The import share of HRC has been below 10 percent since January 2019, […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,650,000 net tons in the week ending Jan. 2, up 3.1 percent from the week before, which saw some slowing due to the holiday. The average mill utilization rate rose to 74.6 percent, up from 72.3 percent the week prior. Production in the last week of 2020 […]
This report is an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data and is intended to provide subscribers with a view of the competitive position of sheet steel, aluminum, plastic and wood. The analysis includes some downstream products and a comparison of truck and rail transportation. On Dec. 10, the BLS released its series of Producer […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,619,00 net tons in the week ending Dec. 19, up from 1,567,000 net tons week on week. The operating rate was 73.2 percent, up 3.3 percent from 70.9 percent the week prior. The increase is likely a reflection of mills adding capacity, including U.S. Steel’s restart of […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,600,000 net tons in the week ending Dec. 26, down 1.2 percent from the prior week, most likely due to the holiday lull. The mill utilization rate was 72.3 percent, down from 73.2 percent the week before and 78.5 percent in the same week last year. Adjusted […]
After reaching bottom in June, due largely to the global pandemic, mill shipments and supply of sheet products have since maintained a slow but steady upward trajectory. This analysis is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import-export data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The analysis […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,567,000 net tons in the week ending Dec. 12, down slightly from 1,579,000 week on week. The operating rate was 70.9 percent, down 0.8 percent from 71.4 percent the week prior, based on the American iron and Steel Institute’s calculations, which include idled capacity. Actually, despite the […]
Downstream steel product shipments continue to improve, though slower than the overall manufacturing economy. The fallout driven by the first wave of the global pandemic back in April is still evident in the data despite the steady rebound. The Census Bureau provides monthly data on inventories, shipments and new orders for total U.S. manufacturing and […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,579,000 net tons in the week ending Dec. 5. As expected, production increased by 1.2 percent after edging off slightly the week prior due to the Thanksgiving holiday break. The operating rate as a result rose to 71.4 percent, up from 70.6 percent the prior week. Even though present […]