In this report, we examine the change in currency values of the 16 preeminent global steel trading and iron ore trading nations. The currencies of these 16 don’t necessarily follow the Broad Index value of the U.S. dollar. In fact, at any given time, some are always moving in the opposite direction. The latest value […]
The U.S. dollar has strengthened against 13 of the 16 steel trading nation currencies in the last month. In this report we examine the change in currency values of the 16 preeminent global steel and iron ore trading nations. The currencies of these 16 don’t necessarily follow the Broad Index value of the U.S, dollar. […]
The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., reached $66.24 per barrel on April 20 and had declined to $51.94 on June 17. The total number of operating rigs exploring for oil has declined by 106 since Jan. 4. The prices of oil and natural gas drive the consumption of energy-related steel […]
SMU now offers a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at Commerce Department license data to the very detailed look at volume by district of entry and source nation. The report you are reading now is designed to plug the gap between these two. Our intention is to report regional imports […]
SMU now offers a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at Commerce Department license data to the very detailed look at volume by district of entry and source nation. The report you are reading now is designed to plug the gap between these two. Our intention is to report regional imports […]
SMU now offers a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at Commerce Department license data to the very detailed look at volume by district of entry and source nation. The report you are reading now is designed to plug the gap between these two. Our intention is to report regional imports […]
SMU now offers a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at Commerce Department license data to the very detailed look at volume by district of entry and source nation. The report you are reading now is designed to plug the gap between these two. Our intention is to report regional imports […]
SMU now offers a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at licensed data to the very detailed look at volume by district of entry and source nation. The report you are reading now is designed to plug the gap between these two. Our intention is to report regional imports for six […]
Most indicators of manufacturing activity are still positive, but if trends continue growth could become negative by late summer, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis. This report summarizes 11 data streams that describe the state of U.S. manufacturing in general and the steel industry in particular. We have reported on most of these separately […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories. Table 1 shows total supply to the market in three months through April and in 12 months through April for the four product groups and the 16 subcategories. Supply to the market is the total of domestic mill shipments […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive-level members. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Demand for long products is strong, driven by construction, while demand for sheet is declining, according to this SMU analysis of the latest data from the American Iron and […]
Private construction contracted in three months through April, but state and locally funded work, including infrastructure, is booming, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of Commerce Department data The Construction Put in Place (CPIP) expenditures data for April was released on June 3. Through April, total construction has had negative momentum every month this year […]
Total rolled product imports in May declined by 27.4 percent year over year on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. This follows the 24.4 percent decline in April. This early look at May’s import volume is based on Commerce Department license data (see explanation below.) This import analysis includes all major steel sectors: sheet, plate, […]
The rate of job creation in the U.S. in 2019 is slowing, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Net job creation in May was an unexpectedly low result of 75,000. To make matters worse, March was revised down by 36,000 and April was revised down by […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued a dismal employment report for May with the U.S. economy seeing a net gain of just 75,000 nonfarm jobs. Last month, 90,000 jobs were created in the private sector while government lost 15,000 positions. To put these figures in perspective, they should be considered over a longer time frame, […]
Key Market Indicator trends deteriorated in May and were the worst since October 2016, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data we have reported in detail during the month. In it we summarize 36 data streams that critically describe the state of the steel […]
The Conference Board’s measure of consumer confidence in May was the highest since last November. This is quite a volatile indicator; therefore, we prefer to smooth the data with a moving average to reduce monthly volatility. The composite value of consumer confidence in May was 134.1 with a three-month moving average (3MMA) of 129.2. The […]
China’s crude steel production in April exceeded an annualized rate of one billion tons for the first time as the Asian giant continues to grow its global market share, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of the latest World Steel Association data. On March 27, the OECD Steel Committee reported: “Low growth prospects for the […]
U.S. gross domestic product grew in every region of the country in all four quarters of 2018, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data. The BEA introduced a new data set for GDP by state and region in 2014 and backdated it to Q1 2005. This week, the data was updated through Q4 2018. Even […]
Monthly oil production in the U.S. declined sharply in February as inventories increased. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has declined in the last month. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., reached $66.24 / barrel on April 20 and had declined to $60.97 on May 13. The total […]
In this report, we examine the change in currency values of the 16 pre-eminent global steel and iron ore trading nations. The currencies of these 16 don’t necessarily follow the broad index value of the U.S. dollar. In fact, at any given time, some are always moving in the opposite direction. The latest value of […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update have reports available on our website that break out the import tonnage into district of entry and source nation for six sheet and plate product categories. This report takes the total national tonnage of hot rolled and breaks it down into product detail. Using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) […]
Demand for long products and tubular goods have shown strong growth, but sheet products are declining. This analysis by SMU staff is based on data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). The analysis summarizes total steel supply by product from 2003 through March 2019 and year-on-year […]
The competitiveness of steel continues to lose ground against aluminum and plastic, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cold rolled steel sheet has become less competitive against aluminum sheet in the last year and this has carried through to steel and aluminum cans. Steel tubular goods have lost ground to […]
Using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) data, SMU has taken the import tonnage of cold rolled sheet and broken it down into coil and leveled, then it breaks out four thickness ranges and identifies how much was full hard, annealed and high strength. Through March 2019, of the total cold rolled sheet and strip imports […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive-level members in this issue. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Rolled product imports declined by 24.4 percent in April year over year on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. This early look at April’s import volume is based […]
Private construction contracted in three months through March, but state and locally funded work, including infrastructure, is booming, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of the latest Commerce Department data. The Construction Put in Place (CPIP) expenditures data for March was released on May 1. Through March, total construction has negative momentum. Private construction contracted […]
The recovery from February’s very poor rate of job creation continued through April. Net job creation in April was 263,000, February was revised up by 23,000 to 56,000 and March was revised down by 7,000 to 189,000, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Rising employment and wages are the main contributors to GDP growth […]
Job creation in manufacturing has slowed dramatically in the last three months, but construction employment is still expanding rapidly. In April, 236,000 jobs were created in the private sector and government added 27,000. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most of the goods-producing […]
Steel mill shipments have declined slightly since November on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the inventory-to-shipment ratio has increased slightly since October, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Census Bureau data. Steel trade association data from the AISI and MSCI is most widely used to assess the state of the industry. In addition, […]