The following data is from the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS): Falls Church, VA. May 1, 2017. Steel imports spiked by nearly a quarter in March, and were almost a third higher than they were a year earlier. March imports increased 24.7 percent from February to 3.4 million net tons, 30.5 percent higher than […]
Despite incentives, U.S. automotive sales dipped in April with almost all brands showing declines year-ove- year. Of the Big Three Detroit manufacturers, Ford had the worst results, down 7.2 percent to 214,695 for the month. FCA USA posted sales of 177,441, down 6.6 percent and GM had sales of 244,406, down 5.8 percent. Slower sales […]
The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI dipped slightly to 52.8 in April from 53.0 in March. The PMI has shown expansion (above the 50 no-change mark) for 14 months. Manufacturing conditions slowed in the U.S. but was offset by acceleration in Europe, Japan and the United Kingdom. China expanded at its weakest rate in seven […]
The Commerce Department is seeking input from American businesses on what factors contribute to the trade deficit. Commerce is collecting information to submit to President Trump as an information base for renegotiating trade deals and to deter and punish trade abuse. “Many trade abuses are well known to American companies, but because different Federal agencies […]
The April 2017 ISM Report on Business showed economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanding for the eighth consecutive month. The PMI registered 54.8, dropping 2.4 points from March as new orders slowed. The PMI has averaged 56.4 since the beginning of the year. New orders decreased 7 points to 57.5 percent. New export orders […]
Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI. HARDI stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and The Institute for Trend Research (ITR), an economic forecasting company, work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members located in the United […]
The Chicago Business Barometer in April reached its highest level since January 2015, posting a score of 58.3 from 57.7 in March. Growing demand for manufactured products pushed new orders up 5.5 points to a near three-year high. The production index in April was at another high level although receding slightly to 59.5 from 61.7. […]
Olympic Steel reported a very positive first quarter. Higher shipment volume and pricing resulted in a 30 percent increase in net sales to $334.9 million resulting in net income of $7.7 million. Sales and margins increased in all three segments of Olympic Steel due to increased demand and higher pricing. Carbon flat products turned in […]
NLMK USA sales jumped 33 percent from fourth to first quarter on stronger demand from construction and pipe manufacturers. Sales volume totaled 562,000 tonnes. Sales revenue was $399 million, which included $186 million for HRC, $109 million for CRC, $96 million for HDG, and $1 million for slabs. Profit for first quarter was $54 million […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum turned in a strong first quarter with sales up 17.4 percent to $2.42 billion from Q4 2016 and net income up 81 percent to $111.7 million. On a year-over-year basis sales were up 11.9 percent and income 21.1 percent. “Improved demand, higher metal pricing and continued strong execution resulted in record […]
Essar Steel Minnesota was awarded to billionaire Tom Clarke for $550 million at an auction on Wednesday. Clarke’s group Chippewa Capital Partners, which previously purchased Magnetation, plans to merge Essar Steel Minnesota, now called Mesabi Metallics, with Magnetation and finish the $1.9 taconite pellet plant at the Essar site. Clarke told the Star Tribune that Chippewa […]
Cliffs Natural Resources continues to shore up its balance sheet and focus on reducing its debt. A $72 million debt extinguishment/restructuring charge resulted in a net loss of $30 million for the quarter. Debt was reduced by $550 million during Q1 resulting in total debt at the end of the quarter of $1.6 billion. First […]
The Tenth District joins the Dallas and Richmond Federal Reserves in reporting slower manufacturing activity in the region. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in its April Manufacturing Survey reported its month-over-month composite index was 7 in April, after readings of 20 in March and 14 in February. Most of the indexes that make […]
Members of the Precision Metalforming Association are anticipating a slight downturn in business conditions during the next three months, according to the latest PMA Business Conditions Report. The April report sampled 120 metalforming companies in the U.S. and Canada and showed 45 percent of participants expecting improvement in general activity in the near future compared […]
Durable goods orders rose to a lower rate in March than expected. New orders rose 0.7 percent to $238.7 billion, well under the Bloomberg forecast of 1.3 percent. Orders for core capital goods (non-military capital goods minus aircraft that are used in GDP calculation) rose 0.2 percent, less than the 0.5 percent predicted. Automotive vehicles […]
This week the Trump administration initiated an investigation on the impact of steel imports on national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Section 232 has been initiated 26 times within the last 55 years but only two (1979 and 1983) found a threat to national security, both involving crude oil. […]
US Steel stunned analysts and the financial community on Tuesday/Wednesday when the company announced a large loss when the street was expecting the company to make money. During the conference call the mill advised that they essentially need to upgrade their facilities in order for the company to remain competitive. The stock price dropped 25 […]
AK Steel reported net income of $62.5 million for its best first quarter since 2008. Shipments declined to 1,486,900 tons year-over-year due to intentionally reduced sales of lower margin products. Net sales increased one percent from Q1 2016 to $1.53 billion as a result of increases in average selling price on both spot and contract […]
The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index reached a 32 month high in February. The Index reported a 5.8 percent annual increase in prices, up from 5.6 percent in January. The 20-City Composite reported a year-over-year gain of 5.9 percent, compared to 5.7 percent the previous month. Seattle, Portland and Dallas reported the highest […]
New home sales reached an 8-month high as the spring season brought out new buyers. Sales of new single-family homes rose 5.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 621,000 in March. The rate is 15.6 percent above the March 2016 estimate, according to the US Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban […]
Swedish steel mill SSAB posted an operating profit of SEK 702 million for the first quarter 2017 ($79.2 million). Higher prices and increased shipments at SSAB Europe helped drive profits for the company. SSAB Americas also saw an increase in realized prices during first quarter and stronger margins as scrap metal prices increased. A maintenance […]
Two important Federal Reserve reports on manufacturing came out this week from Dallas and Richmond. The Dallas Federal Reserve reports that growth in the manufacturing sector continued for the tenth consecutive month but at a slower pace in April. The production index of the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey dipped three points to 15.4. New orders […]
There have been a slew of Executive Orders coming out of the Trump White House aimed at impacting manufacturing and the steel industry. The “Buy American, Hire American” order is just one of the orders from last week that the manufacturing and steel industry need to watch and understand the potential impacts to your company. […]
PITTSBURGH, April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –The United Steelworkers (USW) today issued the following statement on President Trump’s executive order to promote Buy American/Hire American: “The United States has laws on the books that promote the utilization of domestic materials and equipment when federal tax dollars are expended for certain projects. Taxpayers want their tax dollars […]
Steel Market Update participates in a monthly steel conference call hosted by HARDI (Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International) for their members. The HARDI conference call is dedicated to a better understanding of the galvanized steel market. The participants are wholesalers, service centers and manufacturing companies who either buy or sell galvanized sheet products used […]
NLMK USA steel output increased by 53 percent quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2017 to 180,000 tonnes and by 15 percent year-over year. Flat steel output rose 27 percent q/q to 530,000 tonnes (up 16 percent y/y) due to strong demand in the United States. Sales were up 33 percent from last quarter to 560,000 tonnes driven […]
The following article is reprinted with permission from author Steven W. Baker, AIIS Customs Committee Chair, and originally published by AIIS in their Customs Corner newsletter. President Trump issued a March 31, 2017 Executive Order on Establishing Enhanced Collection and Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties and Violations of Trade and Customs Laws. This Order […]
US Steel has completed repairs on a waste water pipe that spilled contaminants in the Burns Waterway at the US Steel Midwest Plant in Portage, Ind., last week. The EPA has been testing Lake Michigan water in the region and, so far, has not found significant levels of toxin present. On Friday, US Steel announced […]
The following is a press release on steel exports from the American Institute for International Steel with updates from AIIS on 4/18/2017: Falls Church, VA. April 17, 2017. Steel exports rose slightly from January to February to total 827,559 net tons. February exports were 1.1 percent higher than in January and 6.2 percent higher than […]
Housing starts fell 6.8 percent in March, dropping further than expected. The rate was the biggest decline in three years but still 9.2 percent higher than the rate in March 2016. According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of […]