Total rolled steel imports increased by 10.8 percent in the three months through August compared to the three months through May. Sheet product imports rose by 14.3 percent on the same basis, according to final license data for August reported by the U.S. Commerce Department on Aug. 6. The data is reported within the Steel […]
Employment growth in both construction and manufacturing was strong in August. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) net job creation report released on Friday was disappointing in total, but unusual in the detail. Disappointing because employment growth was worse than normal for August. Unusual in that the ratio of goods-producing to service-industry job growth was […]
Half of the 36 Key Steel Market Indicators released in August are historically positive, while only 19 percent are negative, and the balance fall within the normal range, in Steel Market Update’s view. Along with May, when the data was about the same, this is the best outlook since we began our analysis in January […]
In this report, we examine the latest prices for iron ore, scrap, coking coal and zinc. To put the raw materials analysis into perspective, we begin with Figure 1, which shows the spread between Chicago #1 busheling and hot rolled coil ex works Indiana through Aug. 18, both in dollars/net ton. On this date, Aug. […]
Consumer confidence increased again in August, according to The Conference Board. The composite value of consumer confidence in August was 122.9, up from 120.0 in July. The first estimate for July was revised down slightly. The last seven months have each been better than at any time since 2001. The three month moving average (3MMA) […]
U.S. manufacturing continued to perform well through July. This Premium content, which is being offered to all subscribers, summarizes seven data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the U.S. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications, therefore will be brief in this summary. We don’t expect […]
In June and July, China registered its highest share of global steel production ever, according to World Steel Association data with analysis by Steel Market Update. Global crude steel production in the month of July totaled 143,245,000 metric tons, up from 141,331,000 metric tons in June. Capacity utilization was 71.7 percent, down from 73.0 percent […]
This article is normally reserved for our Premium members, but we are sharing it with our entire readership this month. To learn more about what our Premium members receive, click here. Steel Market Update offers this update on the currencies of the steel and iron ore trading nations through Aug. 21. The analysis of currency […]
Light vehicle assemblies in NAFTA declined sharply in July, according to data from Ward’s Automotive. Economy.com reported that U.S. vehicle sales totaled fewer than 17 million units at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) in July for the fifth consecutive month. Sales were 16.76 million units annualized in July, down 5.9 percent on a year-ago […]
Service center shipments took the normal dip in July, but the decline was slightly more than the historical average. Months on hand at the end of July were up sharply, partly because of a decline in shipping days, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Metals Service Center Institute data. Daily shipments in July […]
Gross domestic product grew in every region except the Plains States in Q1 2017. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (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 Q1 2017. Even though we might consider this to […]
In the last month, the price of crude oil has risen and the price of natural gas has declined slightly. The number of operating rigs exploring for both oil and gas has declined for three straight weeks. This is the first decline since the low point of June 27 last year. The prices of oil […]
Editor’s note: As a special bonus, we are sharing this premium-level article with all our subscribers: Demand for sheet products is increasingly driven by hot rolled coil. Imports are taking a greater share of the sheet market, reaching 21.2 percent in June. Apparent supply is a proxy for market demand, and the apparent supply of […]
Editor’s note: As a special bonus, we are sharing this premium-level article with all our subscribers: We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about regional import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis of tonnage by district of entry is to describe in detail what is going on in […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment report for July was released on Friday with a gain in jobs that exceeded analysts’ expectations. The May result was revised down by 7,000 and June was revised up by 9,000 positions. Using a three-month moving average (3MMA), the July result was 195,000 jobs, which was pulled down […]
Total imports of rolled steel increased by 16.9 percent, and sheet products by 18.4 percent, in the three months through July, compared with the prior three months, according to final license data for July released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Aug. 1. The three-month moving average (3MMA) of the total volume of rolled product […]
Total construction expenditures are expanding slowly, but the contraction of infrastructure expenditures is accelerating, according to June data for construction put in place (CPIP) released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Aug. 1. Total construction still shows positive growth, but slowed to 1.3 percent year/year in the latest three months of data. Privately funded […]
In this report, updated July 28, we examine the latest prices for iron ore, scrap, coking coal and zinc. To put the raw materials analysis into perspective, we begin with Figure 1, which shows the spread between Chicago #1 busheling and hot rolled coil ex works Indiana through July 21, both in $/net ton. On […]
In the Key Indicators data released in July, both the present situation and trends have recovered from what now appears to have been a temporary downward blip in June. Trends lead the present situation by about four months. An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those […]
This report summarizes seven data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the U.S. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications, therefore we’ll be brief in this summary. We don’t expect these data sources to all point in the same direction. Our intention in summarizing them in […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that job creation has been positive in all regions of the country since Q3 2016, in the second-quarter data it released on Friday. Economy.com summarizes as follows: “The country’s labor market ended the second quarter on a strong note, with job growth in June that was stronger and more […]
Consumers are feeling better about the present economic environment and their expectations for the future, according to data from The Conference Board, which conducts a monthly Consumer Confidence Survey. Consumer confidence is the driver of consumer spending, which is the largest component of GDP and ultimately drives a large portion of steel consumption. The composite […]
Global steel production in the three months through June set another record and once again China was the driver, reports the World Steel Association, with the following analysis by SMU. World steel production in the month of June totaled 141,046,000 metric tons, down from 143,204,000 tons in May. Capacity utilization was 73.0 percent, up from […]
Light vehicle sales are slowing and Mexico continues to take production share from the U.S. Vehicle sales in the U.S. averaged 17.0 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in the first six months of 2017, down from 18.1 million in Q4 2016. March through June monthly sales were each below 17.0 million […]
The growth of service center shipments in June beat the average performance since 2009, according to data from the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). Inventories tend to be lower at mid-year, which is the case in 2017. Daily shipments in June were 0.8 percent higher than in May. On average since 2009, June has decreased […]
The value of the U.S. dollar is in free fall on the international foreign exchange markets. Through July 18, the Broad Index value of the U.S. dollar had depreciated by 7 percent since January 3. Comparing on a rolling three-month basis, the index has declined every single day since January 20. (Please see the end […]
China’s economic performance through the second quarter continued to be impressive. Chinese growth of steel production lagged the rest of the world in the first months of 2017, but the June output could indicate an unwelcome change. Once each quarter, we publish the official statistics for Chinese GDP, industrial production, consumer price inflation and fixed […]
Since our last report, the price of crude oil has continued to decline and the price of natural gas has been stable. The number of operating rigs exploring for both oil and gas has continued to increase. The prices of oil and natural gas drive the consumption of energy-related steel products including oil country tubular […]
We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about regional import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis of tonnage by district of entry is to describe in detail what is going on in a company’s immediate neighborhood and thus provide a negotiating advantage for our premium subscribers. We are […]
Apparent supply is a proxy for market demand, and for hot rolled coil has been growing strongly this year. Imports continue to be an increasing factor in the sheet markets. There is a major difference in import market share for the four major sheet products. This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through May […]