.One of the subjects of conversation I had with a number of buyers is what do the domestic steel mills need to do to break the foreign import cycle? There are some who believe that the steel mills will be best served by letting the prices drift down to the point where the spread between […]
The first measurement of our Steel Buyers Sentiment Index in the New Year provided us some mixed results. Current Sentiment, which is how steel buyers and sellers feel about their company’s ability to be successful in the current market environment, was measured at +54. This is well within the optimistic range of our Index but […]
Low scrap prices and declining exports took a toll on earnings results for Schnitzer Steel Industries. Export selling prices for ferrous scrap declined by $80 per ton, or 20 percent, while domestic prices dropped $60 per ton, or 15 percent. The declines were the steepest seen by Schnitzer since 2012. The company reported a net […]
Commercial Metals Company (CMC) reported net sales of $1.7 billion for the first quarter of FY 2015, a four percent increase year-over-year. Earnings from continuing operations totaled $38.3 million. Americas Recycling recorded an adjusted operating loss of $1.1 million due to a decline in ferrous scrap shipments and margins. The America Mills segment recorded adjusted […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its construction put in place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. November data was released on January 2nd. Construction put in place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for a given month from a sample of projects. In effect […]
We provided full year projected steel imports in tonight’s issue. Please be aware: 1) the November numbers are Preliminary Census and should be very close to accurate, 2) the December numbers are based on license data and there can be fluctuations in the Census and license data numbers. November is a good example. November license […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The total number of indicators considered in this analysis is currently 36. Please refer to Table 1 for the view of the present situation and the quantitative measure of trends. Readers […]
The following is the Chicago Federal Reserve statement followed by our own graphical analysis. The CFNAI is an excellent reality check for much of the economic analysis that we routinely provide in The Steel Market Update. An explanation of the Index is provided at the end of this piece. Index shows economic growth picked up […]
Essar Steel Minnesota is asking the Minnesota legislature to extend the October 2014 repayment deadline for a $67 million state subsidy the company received in 2007, according to a report by the Duluth News Tribune. The extension would give Essar another seven years before repayment would be required. The funding was provided for building infrastructure […]
Production in November on a tons per day basis was 4.351 million tonnes, down from 4.411 in October. November had one fewer production day than October and the month’s total decreased from 136.363 million to 130.525 tons. Since January 2008 on average, November monthly production has decreased by 5.36 percent, this year November decreased by […]
As we approach the end of the year we begin to think about what is ahead of us for 2015. Will we see the massive amounts of foreign steel continue to flood the domestic (USA) market or will buyers back off as domestic prices slide closer to foreign offers? The expectation is for demand to […]
Canadians are outraged by the “Buy America” rule applied to a ferry terminal overhaul on Canadian soil. Funding for updating the Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal in British Columbia, leased to the State of Alaska, is coming primarily from the Federal Highway Administration, which requires Buy America rules. In the restrictions published in tendering documents by […]
Total service center carbon steel shipments in November decreased by 763,700 tons to 2.979 million tons. This was mainly due to a decrease in shipping days from 23 to 19. On a tons per day basis (t/d) shipments also decreased from 162,700 in October to 156,800. In the eleven years 2004 through 2014 November shipments […]
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) released their Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score for the month of November on Wednesday this week, reporting that the latest index is at the lowest point in the last seven months. The ABI score for November was 50.9, down 2.8 points from October’s score of 53.7. Note that the […]
We saw prices slipping in hot rolled and cold rolled steels over the past seven days. We are seeing offers on benchmark hot rolled below the $600 per ton level. One service center who is usually a coated only buyer told SMU that they purchased a small amount of hot rolled and they had offers […]
Starts in November declined to an annual rate 1,028,000, the same as the number for September but down from 1,045,000 in October. The three month moving average, (3MMA) rose to 1,034,000, (Figure 1). This was the third consecutive month that the 3MMA of starts exceeded a million units. The year over year growth rate of […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP index was reported as 106.66 for November an increase of 1.26 percent from October. The three month moving average (3MMA) was 105.75 which was the highest value ever and the sixth straight month where the growth of the 3MMA exceeded […]
The Dodge Momentum index rose 0.6 percent to 125.0 in November according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Dodge attributes the rise to greater planning activity in the commercial sector. Commercial planning rose 4 percent for the month, however, planning activity for the institutional sector fell 3.8 percent. “After retreating from July through September, the Momentum […]
For the past four days Steel Market Update (SMU) has been attending and speaking at the HARDI annual conference in San Antonio, Texas. One of the highlights of the conference were the presentations provided by Alan Beaulieu, one of the principal partners of the Institute for Trend Research (ITR) and the chief economist for HARDI. […]
Ports around the U.S. report steel shipments continue to be strong but congestion at the terminals remains a problem. In the Port of New Orleans iron and steel imports totaled 2.2 million tons in the first eight months of this year—up 84.8 percent from the same period in 2013. “We don’t have November numbers as […]
ArcelorMittal has idled the Indiana Harbor West No. 2 galvanizing line and plans to shut down the electric arc furnace at Indiana Harbor Long Carbon. Employees were told that the No 1 aluminizing line at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor West is also under consideration for shutdown as the company shifts production to AM/NS Calvert in Alabama. […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report on non-farm employment indicated that 321,000 jobs were added in November, October and September were revised up by a total of 44,000. The three month moving average (3MMA) of gains was the highest since May 2010 at 278,000. This job recovery is stronger than was the case in […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The total number of indicators considered in this analysis is currently 36. The Chicago Fed Mid-West Manufacturing Index which was suspended earlier this year was expected to be re-instituted this month but […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its construction put in place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. October data was released on December 2nd. Construction put in place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for a given month from a sample of projects. In effect […]
It has now been five weeks (October 28th) since AK Steel became the first domestic steel mill to announce a price increase on flat rolled steel. The relatively modest $20 per ton move was, in many steel buyers’ opinions, meant to stem the decline in steel prices. At that point in time benchmark hot rolled […]
Steel Market Update has written a number of articles about the Keystone Pipeline. The pipeline has not been completed due to politics and environmental issues. We received an article from Peter Brebach, CEO of Iron Angels of Colorado which takes a look at the other side of the issue from an economic and environmental perspective: […]
Big River Steel has asked a federal court to block the Clean Air Act challenge mounted by Nucor last August. In a court filing on Friday, Big River Steel said the challenge is a “collateral attack” by Nucor. Big River Steel received the necessary permits from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (AEDQ) to build […]
US Steel announced on Monday it will build a new corporate headquarters at the former Civic Arena site in Pittsburgh’s lower Hill District. The new headquarters is part of US Steel’s Carnegie Way and is expected to provide significant cost savings by housing employees from a number of locations under one roof. “As we continue […]
Industrial production and manufacturing capacity utilization, both of these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP Index was reported as 104.86 for October a decline of 0.11 percent from September. This is another example where the individual months result can be misleading. The three month moving average (3MMA) was […]
Starts in October fell to an annual rate of 1,009,000 units from 1,038,000 in September. The three month moving average (3MMA) decreased from 1,033,000 units to 1003,000, (Figure 1). This was the second time since January that the 3MMA had exceeded a million units. The year over year growth rate of the 3MMA of total […]