Building permits in Canada rose in value by 13.5 percent in June to $8.0 billion according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. The jump in value surprised market analysts who were expecting a 2.0 percent decline from May. Quebec non-residential construction intentions led the increase, rising 32.5 percent to $3.8 billion. Residential permits increased […]
The July 2014 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices addressed changes in the standards and terms on, and demand for, bank loans to businesses and households over the past three months. This summary is based on the responses from 75 domestic banks and 23 U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks. Below […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. June data was released on August 1st. Construction put in place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for a given month from a sample of projects. In effect the […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report on non-farm employment indicated that 209,000 jobs were added in July, June was revised up by 10,000 to 298,000 and May up by 5,000 to 229,000. The three month moving average, (3MMA) declined to 245,000 in July after four consecutive months of growth beginning in February at 150,000, […]
The SMU Key Market Indicators is a Premium Level product produced by Peter Wright in collaboration with Steel Market Update. Our Executive Level members have been getting access to all of the Premium Level data for the month of July (today is the last day). This includes access to all of the Premium data which […]
AK Steel posted an adjusted profit in second quarter despite adverse weather early in second quarter that delayed iron ore shipments forcing reduced production. Adjusted net income was $2.9 million. AK Steel shipped 1,397,500 tons of steel in the second quarter for sales of $1.53 billion. Average selling price rose 3.2 percent to $1,095 per […]
Big River Steel CEO John Correnti says government should “stay out” of private industry. What appeared to be a contradiction after receiving more than $125 million in incentives from the state of Arkansas, Correnti stated in an interview with Arkansas Business that states have to invest in big business in order to stay competitive, but […]
Home prices grew moderately in May according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. On a year-over-year basis the 10-City Composite gained 9.4 percent and the 20-City gained 9.3 percent, down from the previous y/y gains reported last month of 10.9 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively. The 10- and 20-City Composites posted gains of 1.1 […]
New home sales were disappointing in June, dropping 8.1 percent below the revised rate May rate of 442,000 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 406,000, according to estimates by the US Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The drop is “a return to trend rather than a change of direction,” says […]
Andre Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC has the honors this week to discuss the financial and HRC, iron ore and scrap futures markets in an attempt to make sense out of what can sometimes feel like total chaos. Financial Markets: Well we’re at all time highs again, having hit an intraday on the September S&P […]
Caterpillar said it was pleased with its second quarter results, particularly the improvement in profit despite weaker results in its mining segment. Profit after taxes was $146 million compared to $111 million in Q2 2013, an increase of 32 percent. Year over year revenue increased 5 percent to $728 million. “Construction Industries had a good […]
Improved demand and higher prices in North America helped SAAB Americas report a strong profit for second quarter and the first half of 2014 after reporting losses in both time periods in 2013. SSAB Americas steel sales soared 15 percent year over year in the second quarter of 2014 and 9 percent on a quarterly […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) today announced the release of its 2013 Annual Statistical Report (ASR). The 2013 ASR shows that U.S. steel production, shipments, imports and exports all decreased in 2013 vs. 2012, as U.S. steel markets remained below pre-recession levels. U.S. steel shipments were at 95 million net […]
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) was released on Wednesday morning showing an overall improvement in construction industry. The ABI score for June was 53.5, up from 52.6 in May. Note that the index is centered around 50, with scores above 50 indicating an aggregate increase in billings, and scores below 50 indicating a decline. “The […]
AK Steel has announced that it will acquire the Severstal Dearborn a cokemaking facility and three joint ventures from OAO Severstal for $700 million. Here is the AK Steel press release: West Chester, OH, July 21, 2014—AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) said today that it has signed an agreement to acquire Severstal North America’s integrated steelmaking […]
Steel Dynamics has announced the purchase of the Severstal Columbus steel mill for $1.625 billion in cash. According to the mill the purchase price will be financed with available cash and debt. The Columbus mill expands their hot rolled steel production by 3.4 million tons and broadens their product portfolio as well as geographical reach […]
Statistical data out of China is always questioned for a number of reasons, not least is, “Is the data politically motivated.” Other suspicions arise because China gets their data out faster than any other major economy and the data is never revised. Figure 1 shows published data for the growth of GDP, industrial production and […]
Existing home sales rose 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.04 million in June according to a report by the National Association of Home Realtors. Sales were at the highest rate since October 2013 but 2.3 percent below the rate in June 2013. “Inventories are at their highest level in over a year […]
A first glance suggests that the June housing starts report was depressing, total starts at 893,000 were down from 985,000 in May and 1,063,000 in April. However the three month moving average (3MMA) in June was 980,000 which was exactly the same as April. Not progress but not a calamity either. Even on a 3MMA […]
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 […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP index was reported as 103.92 for June, with a three month moving average (3MMA) of 103.6. This was the ninth consecutive month for the index to exceed the pre-recession peak of September 2007. The 3MMA has expanded for 20 straight […]
Total service center carbon steel shipments in June declined by 56,500 tons to 3.527 million tons. This was almost exactly the same decline as experienced in May and which together almost wiped out the April gain. Shipping days were 21 in June, the same as in April and May. April was the highest monthly shipping […]
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 quarterly forecast to the HARDI members located in the […]
Chuck Bradford of the Metals Industry Advisory Group is a well known steel analyst. Mr. Bradford will be participating in our 2014 Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta. Mr. Bradford will be part of a panel discussing commodity prices and the influence of China on the world steel industry – especially here in the United States. […]
As you may have noticed, we have been writing a series of articles highlighting the benefits of our Premium membership. Through the end of July, our Executive members will have access to our Premium content. If you have not yet explored our Premium content, such as SMU’s survey data or imports by product/port/country, I would […]
First thing I want to say is everyone needs to be aware that the market is plum full of rumors and half-truths. There are rumors about dumping suits, Severstal sale, pricing (going both ways) and more. When you hear something question the source, see if there is anything in writing or if the information can […]
Big River Steel will break ground on the new 1.6 million ton flat rolled mill some time later this month, according to their Chief Commercial Officer, Mark Bula. Construction of the new flat rolled electric arc furnace mini-mill was delayed for about a year as Big River Steel (BRS) had to wait until all air […]
The following article comes from one of our contributing writers, Peter Brebach. Peter is an active trader who deals in the pipe and tube markets and understands the impact of the US Department of Commerce final determination on oil country tubular goods (OCTG). Here is what Peter has to say: The just published final determinations […]
The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index produced a new record high this week as those responding to our market questionnaire pegged Sentiment at +65. Sentiment is now +8 points higher than the +57 produced during the middle of June and is up +11 points from just one month ago. Last year at the beginning of […]
Total US Steel Exports in May were 1,035,608 net tons, down 4.1 percent over April tonnage and down 10.9 percent over May 2013 levels. Eighty Nine percent of May exports were to Canada and Mexico, receiving 559,231 and 363,325 tons respectively. Exports of plate cut lengths were 136,490 tons, up 6.0 percent over April and […]