Auto production in North America exhibited the normal slowdown in December. This is a new report using LMC Automotive as the data source for automotive assemblies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The breakdown of assemblies is “Personal” (cars for personal use) and “Commercial” (light vehicles rated at less than 6.0 metric tons gross vehicle […]
Indicators of economic activity in the U.S. do not predict an imminent recession, but the yield curve and housing permits should be on our radar screen. Recessions are defined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the organization tasked with identifying when a recession starts and ends, as back-to-back quarters of negative economic growth. […]
Indicators of economic activity in the U.S. do not predict an imminent recession. This month we have revamped our recession monitor report to make it more time sensitive. The reason for steel people in particular to know where we are in the business cycle is that steel demand is related to GDP but is vastly […]
The U.S. labor market finished 2018 on a strong note. December was the first month ever for total nonfarm payrolls to exceed 150 million, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Unlike the Commerce Department and Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) remains funded under the current government shutdown. […]
Employment gains in manufacturing and construction were strong in December, as 301,000 jobs were created in the private sector and 11,000 in government, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most of the goods-producing employees […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium content with all its readers in this issue. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The U.S. has strengthened its position in the global scrap market since Q1 2016. This is an analysis that we perform quarterly. We believe […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium content with all its readers in this issue. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. In three months through November year over year, China’s steel production grew 18 times faster than the rest of the world. (Not a typo!) […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium content with all its readers in this issue. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through December of the five materials considered in this report. It reports the month/month, 3 months/3 months and […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium content with all its readers in this issue. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The growth of U.S. GDP in third-quarter 2018 came in at 3.36 percent, but the mix of contributors was concerning. On Friday, the Bureau […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium content with all its readers in this issue. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The U.S. dollar now has the highest value on the foreign exchange markets in over 16 years. In the last month, the dollar strengthened […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive members in this issue. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has declined by $25.33 per barrel since Oct. 3. The price of natural gas is surging. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate […]
Demand for long products is booming, plate products are doing OK, sheet products are flat and tubulars are cratering. 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 October […]
Net job creation in November totaled 155,000 positions. This was a correction from the very strong result in October, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data. Table 1 breaks total U.S. employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most of […]
The employment situation continues to be excellent with job opportunities higher than the total number of unemployed. Rising employment and wages are the main contributor to GDP growth because personal consumption accounts for almost 70 percent of GDP. Steel consumption is related to GDP; therefore, this is one of the indicators that helps us understand […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories through October. Table 1 shows total supply to the market in three months through October and in 12 months through October for the four product groups and the 16 subcategories. Supply to the market is the total of domestic […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to include the following Premium content in this Executive issue. For more information about upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Economic indicators of U.S. manufacturing activity are strong, though growth is slowing. This report summarizes 11 data streams that describe the state of U.S. manufacturing in general and the […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive members in this issue. For more information about upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. This early look at November import license data shows that total rolled product imports declined by 17.3 percent year over year, calculated as a three-month moving average (3MMA). Imports of […]
Construction in the United States is experiencing strong growth led by nonresidential building and infrastructure expenditures, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of the latest Commerce Department Construction Put in Place data. On Dec. 3, Commerce released CPIP expenditures data for October. The growth of total construction on a rolling 12-month basis year over year […]
U.S. gross domestic product grew in every region of the country in the second quarter 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. Last week, the data was updated through Q2 2018. Even […]
Indicators of economic activity in the U.S. do not predict an imminent recession, but the yield curve and housing permits should be on our radar screen. Steel Market Update has been producing this report every three months. We are now increasing the frequency to two months as the pundits are discussing the timing of the […]
Steel production in China continues to outpace other nations. China’s steel production grew eight times faster than production in the rest of the world in the three-month period from August through October, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis of World Steel Association data. Global steel production in October hit an annual rate of […]
U.S. consumer confidence lost momentum in November. The Conference Board’s measure of consumer confidence declined for the month, but the three-month moving average (3MMA) continued to advance. The board’s composite value of consumer confidence in November was 135.7, down from 137.9 in October. The 3MMA, which smooths the data to reduce monthly volatility, increased from […]
This is the first time we have done this analysis since our April publication and we were surprised that the results for sheet and strip products weren’t as good as we expected. Our analysis is based on data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). The analysis […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium content with all its readers in this issue. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The U.S. dollar has on average been relatively stable in the last three months against the currencies of the other steel trading nations. In […]
Steel Facing Stiff Competition from Other Products This article is regularly published for our Premium users, but we decided to share it with our entire readership this month. If you are interested in upgrading to a Premium subscription, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475. Steel is becoming less competitive compared to aluminum, plastic and wood. […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories through September. Table 1 shows total supply to the market in three months through September and in 12 months through September for the four product groups and the 16 subcategories. Supply to the market is the total of domestic […]
Total rolled product imports declined by 20.4 percent in October, versus the same month last year, measured as a three-month moving average, but the effects of Section 232 are still not clear. This early look at October’s import volume is based on Commerce Department license data (see explanation below). Figure 1 shows the tonnage of […]
The Census Bureau provides monthly data on total U.S. manufacturing inventories, shipments and new orders, as well as data for individual industries, including steel products. The Census Bureau data provides a useful reality check on data from steel industry trade groups such as the American Iron and Steel Institute and the Metals Service Center Institute. […]
Construction is experiencing strong growth led by nonresidential building and infrastructure expenditures. On Nov. 1, the Commerce Department released the Construction Put in Place (CPIP) expenditures data for September. The growth of total construction on a rolling 12-month basis year over year increased from 2.1 percent in January to 4.2 percent in September. On a […]
Net job creation in October totaled 250,000 positions. Construction and manufacturing gains were both strong, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most of the goods-producing employees work in manufacturing and […]