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 […]
NLMK USA steel sales totaled 451,000 metric tons (497,141 net tons) for third quarter of 2013, an increase of 5.1 percent from second quarter and 8.7 percent from third quarter 2012. The increase was due mostly to greater US sales for hot rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized steel—275,000 tonnes (303,135 net tons) and 65,000 tonnes […]
Based on responses from the Steel Market Update (SMU) mid-October steel market survey, SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index is +38 and is considered to represent an optimistic view of the industry by those buying and selling flat rolled steel products. The latest reading is up one point over our early October measurement but is one […]
Steel Dynamics reported a strong third quarter net income of $57 million on net sales of $1.9 billion. In comparison, SDI reported $13 million net income on net sales of $1.7 billion in September 2012, and $29 million on net sales of $1.8 billion in second quarter 2013. “Our consolidated operating income increased 64 percent […]
Steel Market Update saw a letter from Majestic Steel to their customers publically announcing a price increase. Majestic, which is well known as a supplier of coated products to the HVAC and construction industries, told their customers that the price increase is due to cold rolled base prices reaching as high as $39.50/cwt and $40.50/cwt […]
The Certified Steel Stud Association (CSSA) recently squared off against the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA) over galvanized coatings for steel stud. CSSA released a warning that G40e or G40EQ coated steel products are not a substitute for G40 coated steel studs. G40 is a hot-dipped galvanized coating (99 percent zinc) that is used to […]
Financial Markets: Two weeks back we suspected that the SP 500 and other US equities markets would struggle with all this Government Shutdown shenanegans. Sure enough, the SP 500 dropped progressively down to a low of 1646 yesterday from the 1697 level we had two weeks ago. However, since the announcement today of the preverbial […]
Canadian building permits in August declined for the third month in a row, dropping 0.7 percent to 209,652 units from 211,080 in July, according to data released Oct. 8 by Statistics Canada. Total value of permits in August was $6.3 billion, down 21.2 percent from July following an increase of 21.4 percent the previous month. […]
The partial federal government shutdown prevented the Bureau of Labor Statistics from publishing the September data which was scheduled for last Friday. We have therefore decided to take a more in depth look at manufacturing and construction employment through August. The graph below shows the change in total employment for these two sectors since January […]
Apparent steel use is expected to grow around 3 percent for both 2013 and 2014 says the World Steel Association in its Short Range Outlook. lobal steel demand is expected to increase to 1.475 billion metric tons in 2013, up 3.1 percent over 2012. WSA says steel use will continue its growth trend in 2014 […]
Activist investor Cevian Capital announced it has increased its stake in ThyssenKrupp AG from 5.2 percent to 6.1 percent. You may be familiar with the definition of an activist as “a vigorous advocate of a cause” but an activist investor is not quite the same. Investopedia defines an activist investor as: An individual or group […]
Effect of the government shutdown on information flow: about half of the data that we at SMU use to evaluate the state of and direction of the steel market is produced by government agencies and is publicly available. The current nature of things was brought home to us on Tuesday when we attempted to access […]
The Commerce Department data for construction expenditures in August should have been released on October 1st but due to the government shutdown is not available. We therefore decided to use our existing data and to take a more detailed look at non residential construction which is by far the largest sector of total construction expenditures. […]
For the past three days, Steel Market Update has been canvassing those attending the Metalcon show in downtown Atlanta. We spoke with manufacturers associated with the metal building, architectural panel and various construction products as well as their service center, steel mill, trading company, paint and toll processors. We heard mixed results regarding 2013 versus […]
The Baker Hughes North American Rotary Rig Count is a weekly census of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the United States and Canada. Rigs are considered active from the time they break ground until the time they reach their target depth and may be establishing […]
The Bureau of Economic Analysis’s third estimate of GDP growth in the second quarter was 2.46 percent q / q, little changed from the 2nd estimate and up from 1.1 percent in the first quarter. The official news release is included below. All major sub components made positive contributions except government expenditures and net exports […]
A storage dome collapse will delay the start-up of Nucor’s new DRI plant in Convent, La., until the end of the year said Nucor officials in a press release on Sept. 26. On Wednesday afternoon, one of three storage domes for storage of iron ore pellets, suffered structural failure and collapsed, creating what sounded like […]
Big River Steel received its air quality permit from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality on Sept. 19, clearing the way for final financing and preparation for construction. The company plans on breaking ground between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2013. The construction of the $1.1 billion plant is projected to take 18 months and provide […]
Ocean Freight Ocean freight rates, as reported by the Baltic Exchange, have rebounded strongly in the last few months driven mainly by the cape-size component. The composite Baltic Dry Index has risen by 152 percent from its 2013 low point in February an increase from 737 to 1860 (Figure 1). The Capesize component has risen […]
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 at present is thirty six. The present situation of eleven of the indicators based on historical standards was positive on September 22nd and thirteen were negative; […]
Steel Market Update conducted our mid-September flat rolled steel market survey this week. The survey began on Monday with an invitation to approximately 600 companies who are active participants in the flat rolled steel industry. Part of the survey includes questions regarding attitudes within the industry regarding how successful the respondents see their company both […]
Steel Dynamics offered guidance on Tuesday saying it anticipates a better third quarter as compared to the second quarter due to increase in shipments and average metal spread (spread being the difference between steel costs and selling prices). In the sheet steel segment higher volumes and better spread increased profits, while in the long products […]
Increasing demand for design services fueling recovery for construction industry The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) showed more acceleration in the growth of design activity nationally. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects […]
Housing starts in August fell short of economist expectations showing just a 0.9 percent increase to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 891,000 units. The increase only comes after July’s rate was revised downward to 883,000 from 896,000, indicating the market may be flattening. Starts for single family homes rose 7 percent offsetting a […]
Austrian-based, Benteler International AG has begun construction of a division of Benteler Steel/Tube in Shreveport, LA. The $975 million steel manufacturing project will include a hot-rolling seamless tube facility to be completed in third quarter 2014 and an electric arc furnace in 2020. The facility will have a capacity of producing 320,000 tons of steel […]
In guidance remarks released Tuesday, Nucor Corp. said it expects the third quarter to outperform the second due to strong performance from its sheet and structural steel segment. Sheet steel improvements are attributed to competitor supply disruptions, customer inventory restocking and market demand improvement. The structural segment benefited from higher production following a planned maintenance […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP index (industrial production) was reported as 99.36 for August, up from 98.96 in July. This was an increase of 0.4 percent and moved the 3MMA up by 0.17 percent. Growth of the 3MMA was 2.0 percent year over year reversing […]
A group of construction industry trade associations have formed the Construction Industry Safety Coalition in response to a proposed OSHA rule on crystalline silica exposure. In an August 23 website posting, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommended a reduction of the permissible exposure limit for breathable silica. “Exposure to silica can be deadly, and […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has received many emails from our readers as well as interested parties regarding our SMU Price Momentum Indicator which we have had at Neutral since Friday, August 23, 2013. Since that time we have seen hot rolled pricing remain in the $630-$660 per ton level (see Comparison Price Indices article below) […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 11, 2013 – Four key trade associations representing the steel stud industry have joined together to promote the use of cold-formed steel framing in construction. Representatives from the Steel Stud Manufacturers Association (SSMA); the Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA); the Certified Steel Stud Association (CSSA); and the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), […]