U.S. Steel plans to restart the No. 8 blast furnace at Gary Works on Aug. 1 in response to improved demand from automotive and other sectors. The 1.2-million-ton furnace was idled in April. “Gary Works is restoring this capacity to satisfy the very strong demand we are seeing from key contract customers with the reemergence […]
The trough for steel volume, particularly for flat rolled steel, has passed and the second half looks promising, said Steel Dynamics CEO Mark Millett. Back orders are strong and order intake rates have picked up due to increasing demand as businesses resume operations following COVID-19 shutdowns. “It is still not possible to determine the full […]
By CRU Analysts Irina Melkonyan and Iris Speelmanns, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Market Outlook Russia is among the biggest steel exporters in the world, delivering to a wide range of destinations. However, steel demand in all regions diminished as the world was hit by Covid-19 and most steel producers globally have struggled. Unlike steelmakers […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices in July at best rose very weakly, or else only held steady or fell in a number of markets versus our June 10 price assessments. The domestic Chinese market was alone in showing more than just a slight m/m gain. CRU’s […]
The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI) increased in June, further stabilizing from sharp declines in recent months. The index now stands at 49.05, up from 45.27 in May. However, the index is still down 54.8 percent from a year ago. “The Employment Trends Index increased for the second consecutive month, but the virus’s recent […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Steel sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market were mixed this week with slight declines for both HR and HDG coil, while CR coil was slightly higher. Market contacts have noted that markets are weakening as demand has not come about as previously expected. Lead […]
Markets are vastly improved from where they were two months ago, said James Banker, Executive Vice President of NLMK USA, during Steel Market Update’s Community Chat on Wednesday. Conditions seem good, mostly because they are coming off a “really awful period,” he said. NLMK USA relies on its customers for information about the market, and […]
Neither rosy nor the voice of doom, IHS Markit analyst John Anton offered a realistic assessment of the U.S. economic recovery post-COVID-19 during Wednesday’s SMU Community Chat Webinar. Recovery from the current recession will not be a quick V-shaped rebound, said Anton, who is associate director of IHS Markit’s Pricing and Purchasing Service. Instead, he […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Long Products Monitor U.S. domestic long product prices were forced lower across the board as demand weakness caused by the Covid-19 pandemic combined with a substantial m/m decline in scrap prices. Construction activity in many states was either curtailed or prohibited entirely as local governments took measures […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen and CRU Economist Ippolito Tarabini, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Market Outlook Lockdowns continued into April. They resulted in a fall in activity, particularly in the hospitality, entertainment and travel sectors. Using estimates of the loss of output by sector, we find that one month of lockdown lowers the […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores and CME Group Commodities Research Analyst Gregor Spilker The CME Group recently launched a new steel futures contract which follows the U.S. hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil market. The U.S. Midwest Domestic Steel Premium (CRU) Futures is financially settled against the difference between U.S. Midwest hot-dipped galvanized coil (base) steel […]
SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a Director at Cargill Risk Management, and […]
Steel prices saw further declines this week, but not a dramatic collapse. The benchmark price of hot rolled now averages around $560 per ton, down $5 from last week and down $50 from the mid-January high of $610. Most of the steel buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week expect […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Matt Watkins, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service Covid-19 is now the major driver of developments in the global steel industry, as indeed it is in the wider economy. Over the past month the virus has spread rapidly outside China and its growth remains uncontrolled. Europe has become a new epicenter […]
Based on our analysis of 10 economic indicators, the decline in manufacturing slowed in February’s data. This report summarizes 10 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 in our Steel Market Update publications, and therefore will be […]
Manufacturing grew in January along with the overall economy, reported the Institute for Supply Management. ISM’s January PMI gained 3.1 points from December to register 50.9, above the crucial no-change mark of 50. New orders and production pulled from contraction to post respective index readings of 52.0 percent and 54.3 percent for the month, said […]
I have been spending time looking at market momentum, lead times (real, not from our survey), who is buying and who is not (and why), and what the market should be concentrating on over the next couple of months (not just today). I am going to start with comments I got from a couple of […]
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. Based on Steel Market Update’s analysis of 10 indicators in January, the decline in U.S. manufacturing continues. This report summarizes 10 data streams that describe the state of U.S. […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive-level members. For more informtion on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The December report of Consumer Confidence from the Conference Board shows stability at a high level based on 10 years of history. Consumer confidence as reported by the Conference Board is […]
Based on Steel Market Update’s analysis of 10 indicators, there is a faint glow in the manufacturing environment. This report summarizes 10 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 in our Steel Market Update publications, and therefore […]
Nucor Steel says it will add a new coil paint line at its Mississippi County sheet mill in Arkansas. The new coil paint line will have a capacity of 250,000 tons per year and is expected to start up in the first half of 2022. “The new coil paint line will diversify our product and […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from the CRU Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices in the U.S. were mixed this week. HR coil at $555 was steady w/w, falling by $2 /s.ton, while CR and HDG coil products gained $26-30 /s.ton w/w after steadying last week. For HR coil, overall volume has picked back […]
Steel consumption in China is expected to ease back to 881 Mt next year, down from the record 886 Mt anticipated this year, according to forecasts by China’s Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute. Crude steel production is projected to mirror those figures by falling to 981 Mt in 2020 from a record 988 Mt […]
The Conference Board’s September-November reports on consumer confidence show an increased weakening of people’s expectations. Consumer confidence as reported by The Conference Board is quite a volatile indicator; therefore, we prefer to smooth the data with a moving average to reduce monthly variability. The composite value of consumer confidence in November was 125.5 with a […]
Steel Market Update is please to share this Premium content with Executive-level subscribers. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Manufacturing output shows contraction in nine of the 10 indicators analyzed by Steel Market Update, which helps to explain the current weakness in steel demand in some sectors. This report […]
The Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing PMI remained in contraction in October with a reading of 48.3, the third month of contraction, indicating continued softening in the manufacturing sector. The October reading was an increase of 0.5 percentage points from September. Nine of the ten components of the index registered below the neutral point of […]
Based on Steel Market Update’s analysis of 10 indicators, U.S. manufacturing output is now contracting and articles manufactured from iron and steel are down by 6.1 percent year over year. This report summarizes 10 data streams that describe the state of U.S. manufacturing in general and the steel industry in particular. In data released in […]
The September Manufacturing ISM Report on Business showed further decline of the manufacturing sector. ISM’s PMI edged down 1.3 points to 47.8 from the August reading of 49.1. “This is the lowest reading since June 2009, the last month of the Great Recession, when the index registered 46.3 percent,” said Timothy R. Fiore, chairman of […]
Both the September and October reports on consumer confidence from The Conference Board suggest a weakening of people’s expectations. Consumer confidence as reported by The Conference Board declined more than expected in September and experienced another small decline in October. This is quite a volatile indicator and therefore we smooth the data with a […]
The growth of manufacturing in the U.S. is slowing, and on a single-month basis the ISM index became negative in August. This does not bode well for the balance of 2019 or for 2020, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of 11 manufacturing indicators. This report summarizes 11 data streams that describe the state of […]