New orders, employment, and production grew through September, while supplier deliveries slowed and backlogs lengthened, said the Institute for Supply Management in its latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI rose 1.2 percentage points to 61.1% in September, the second consecutive monthly increase, indicating continued expansion for the overall economy. As a three-month […]
U.S. consumer confidence declined for the third straight month in September, following a downward revision for the month prior, according to the latest data from The Conference Board. The September index fell by 5.9 points month on month after slipping 9.9 points in August. “Consumer confidence dropped in September as the spread of the Delta variant […]
U.S. consumer confidence declined for the second straight month in August, following a downward revision for the month prior, according to the latest data from The Conference Board. The August index fell by 11.03 points month on month after slipping 3.8 points in July. “Consumer confidence retreated in August to its lowest level since February 2021 […]
Ternium thinks that North American steel prices might move lower later this year but that they will bottom at a new, higher level than in previous cycles, the company’s top executive said. “Prices are probably going to begin a downtrend at some point during the second half. But I don’t expect this to be a […]
U.S. consumer confidence remained steady in July following more accentuated gains in five of the past six months, according to the latest data from The Conference Board. The July index rose by just 0.2 of a point month on month, on top of increases totaling nearly 34 points from February through June. “Consumer confidence was flat […]
Orders for manufactured durable goods rose slightly in June, slowing the upward momentum seen the month prior, reported the U.S. Census Bureau. Orders for cars, appliances and other durable goods rose by 0.8% to a seasonally adjusted $257.6 billion in June, weaker than expected and much less than the 3.2% growth seen the month before. […]
So much for the summer doldrums. After a brief pause following Independence Day (and Canada Day), sheet prices have resumed their sharp upward trajectory. Hot-rolled coil prices are now over $1,800 per ton ($90 per cwt) while cold-rolled and galvanized base prices are above $2,000 per ton ($100 per cwt). If this pace of gains […]
New orders and production picked up in June, while employment contracted, supplier deliveries slowed and backlogs lengthened, said the Institute for Supply Management in its June 2021 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI fell a slight 0.6 percentage point to 60.6 after rising in May and indicates expansion for the overall economy. “Business Survey Committee panelists […]
U.S. consumer confidence improved further in June on top of repeated gains in each of the four previous months, according to the latest data from The Conference Board. The June index rose by 7.3 points month on month, following increases of nearly 25 points from February through May. “Consumer confidence increased in June and is currently […]
By Michael Marley The mini sheet mills face a maxi problem, namely no additional supplies of prompt industrial scrap to feed their growing appetites for that raw material. As they move ahead with planned expansions of existing facilities and the construction of greenfield plants, electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers may be forced to rely on additional […]
Plate prices have seen an astronomical rise, but the big gains have not been enough to keep the spread between sheet and plate from ballooning. And that spread is already the inverse of what is the norm. Normally plate prices carry a premium to sheet prices – now the reverse is true. Sheet carries around a […]
New orders, production and employment picked up in May despite slower supplier deliveries and lengthening backlogs, said the Institute for Supply Management in the May 2021 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI rose 0.5 percentage point to 61.2 after contracting in April and indicates expansion for the overall economy. “Manufacturing performed well for the […]
U.S. consumer confidence saw little change in May following repeated gains since the beginning of 2021, according to the latest data from The Conference Board. The May index edged down marginally by 0.3 points month on month, following increases of more than 30 points from February through April. “After rebounding sharply in recent months, U.S. consumer […]
New home sales sank 5.9% in April from downward revised data in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 863,000, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau and Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Other than a weather-related dip in February, April’s annual rate was the lowest since June 2020. A new home […]
The manufacturing sector can expect continued growth for the remainder of this year, says the Institute for Supply Management in their Spring 2021 Semiannual Economic Forecast. ISM raised its projections for several components of the survey that covers 18 manufacturing industries. “Expectations for the remainder for 2021 have strengthened somewhat compared to December 2020, as […]
The U.S. appliance industry has a chip on its shoulder when it comes to competing with automakers for the scarce supply of semiconductors. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturing (AHAM) has joined two of its sister industry associations—the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)—in appealing to the Department […]
The ISM Manufacturing Report on Business came in lower than expected in April. The PMI dipped four points to a reading of 60.7% as both the new orders and production indexes edged downward to 64.3% and 62.5%, respectively. A score above 50, however, indicates expansion, which means demand continued to improve in April. Fabricated metal […]
Home builders had a busy month in March as housing starts jumped 19.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.74 million. According to the report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau, starts were 37% higher than the rate one year ago. Construction started on 1.24 million […]
Cleveland-Cliffs expects historically high steel prices and record profits to continue for the balance of the year. The integrated steelmaker forecasts that U.S. hot-rolled coil prices will average $1,100 per ton for the remaining three quarters the year, according to guidance released with first quarter earnings data on Thursday, April 22. That’s 21.5% below SMU’s […]
Cleveland-Cliffs expects historically high steel prices and record profits to continue for the balance of the year. The integrated steelmaker forecasts that U.S. hot-rolled coil prices will average $1,100 per ton for the remaining three quarters the year, according to guidance released with first quarter earnings data on Thursday, April 22. That’s 21.5% below SMU’s […]
Hot-rolled coil lead times at some mills are well into June, so steel buyers have to ask themselves now whether a year-long upswing in prices is sustainable. In short, can hot-rolled coil prices continue their record run upward? First a Look Back at Where We’ve Been Steel Market Update’s average hot-rolled coil price was $1,340 […]
U.S. consumer confidence took a major leap forward in March, according to the latest data from The Conference Board. “Consumer confidence increased to its highest level since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020,” said Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions and their short-term […]
U.S. consumer confidence saw major gains in April, according to the latest data from The Conference Board. April’s index rose by about 13.0 points month on month, following a nearly 18.6-point increase in March. “Consumer confidence has rebounded sharply over the last two months and is now at its highest level since February 2020,” said Lynn […]
Section 232 tariffs should remain in place because they backstop a stable U.S. steel industry, the benefits of which will outlast a temporary price spike, a panel of industry experts and trade union members said. “These typically last six to nine months. So we can expect that these price bubbles–and that’s really what they are–are […]
Housing starts tumbled to a six-month low in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.421 million, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. Starts were 10.3% below January’s rate and down 9.3% from February 2020. Part of the decline was due to the unusual winter weather across […]
By CRU Analyst Dave Thewlis, from CRU’s Steel Long Products Monitor Prices among all types of long products rose again in April, the most challenged of which remains wire rod. February’s winter storms, which were extreme enough to cause a 2.2% m/m decline in U.S. industrial production, made a difficult situation worse for wire rod […]
General Motors continues to crank out some full-size pickup trucks despite a microchip shortage. The Detroit-based automaker is doing so by shipping certain vehicles without chip-containing components necessary for reducing fuel consumption, a company spokesman confirmed. “Due to the global shortage of semiconductors impacting the global auto industry, we are making Active Fuel Management/Dynamic Fuel […]
I am going to spend some time discussing Steel Market Update this evening. I started SMU in August 2008 as a one-man show. The company has grown over the years both in size and scope. The sale of the company to CRU has turned out to be a blessing (I think for both companies), and […]
Biden administration Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo described Section 232 tariffs on imported steel and aluminum as “effective” on Thursday. “The data show that those tariffs have been effective,” Secretary Raimondo said in an interview with MSNBC. Raimondo’s comments are important because trade policies such as Section 232, which Trump rolled out in March 2018, fall […]
The latest manufacturing report from the Institute for Supply Management indicates a ninth consecutive month of growth for the nation’s economy. The ISM manufacturing PMI rose 2.1% to 60.8 in February with new orders and production gaining 3.7% and 2.5%, respectively. “The manufacturing economy continued its recovery in February. Survey committee members reported that their […]