New home sales were robust in June, jumping 13.8 percent from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 776,000, according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales were 6.9 percent higher than in June 2019 and at the highest rate since the Great Recession.. “While […]
Below is the agenda for the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference. For more information and to register, visit: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel-Summit. Rising from the Ashes All timings are in EST and all Agenda items will be available on-demand as well as live Monday, August 24, 2020 08:00 AM How to Get the Most from the Virtual Conference: […]
Below is the agenda for the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference. For more information and to register, visit: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel-Summit. Rising from the Ashes All timings are in EST and all Agenda items will be available on-demand as well as live Monday, August 24, 2020 08:00 AM How to Get the Most from the Virtual Conference: […]
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 […]
Nucor surprised analysts with earnings significantly higher than expected for the second quarter of 2020. Earnings for Q2 totaled $108.9 million or $0.36 per diluted share despite Nucor’s own guidance for $0.10-0.15 per share and analyst forecasts of $0.12 to $0.14. The company admits poor forecasting ability resulted in the welcome discrepancy, along with strategic […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum, the industry’s largest service center organization, is expecting a slight increase in demand during the third quarter of 2020 after sales dropped 21.5 percent from the first to the second quarter to $2.02 billion. Shipments for the second quarter declined 17.5 percent to 1.2 million tons with an average selling price […]
NOTE: Steel Market Update will be moving to a new Azure server tomorrow. Most of the day our website will be down as we make the transition. The website should be back up on Saturday and we intend to publish on Sunday as usual, barring any technical difficulties. We are in an interesting time for […]
We are in an interesting time for the steel industry. The pandemic is just one factor behind the stress in the market. The price increase announcements by the integrated steel mills, U.S. Steel, AK Steel and ArcelorMittal, have created another issue for steel buyers. An executive with U.S. Steel saw the slides associated with yesterday’s […]
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 […]
Wholesalers who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC sector remain surprisingly upbeat, despite weak steel prices and uncertain demand due to the coronavirus. In a conference call this morning, members of the Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International said they are benefiting from some pent-up demand, especially in the Northeast where state and […]
Wholesalers who sell HVAC and galvanized steel products to the construction sector report a market that is sharply split. In a conference call this morning, members of the Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) said demand from residential building is surprisingly healthy despite the coronavirus pandemic, while nonresidential/commercial construction is weakening. “I have […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Matthew Watkins, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service Strength in China has continued. Over recent days there has been a renewed surge upwards in Chinese export prices, especially for HR coil, which rose by a total of $17/t in just three trading days this week (see chart 1). This comes at […]
Housing starts in June jumped 17.3 percent from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,186,000. Single-family starts jumped 17.2 percent and multi-family construction leapt 18.6 percent. Regionally, housing starts soared 114.3 percent in the Northeast and climbed 29.3 percent in the Midwest and 20.2 percent in the South. Housing starts declined by 7.4 […]
Construction employment rose in 31 states from May to June, but new data from construction technology firm Procore shows hours on the job slipping. “The widespread job gains in June follow even more universal increases in May,” said Associated General Contractors of America Chief Economist Ken Simonson. “But the government’s employment snapshot was based on […]
Australian steel producer BlueScope expects strong financial results for the second half of FY2020 ending June 30. “Some BlueScope businesses have been impacted by government mandated and customer closures, but in general business conditions have been better than expected – driven primarily by continuing building and construction demand in key markets,” said the company in […]
The July Federal Reserve “Beige Book” showed economic activity increased in almost all Districts, but was far below pre-pandemic levels. Information from Districts collected on or prior to July 6 revealed a pickup in consumer spending as states began lifting COVID-19 restrictions. Automotive sales led the rebound in consumer activity as well as sustained growth […]
By CRU Principal Analyst James Campbell, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Market Outlook Sheet demand collapsed in 2020 Q2 to the lowest level in a decade. As lockdowns eased in May, manufacturing activity improved, and prices increased in most regions. Global sheet demand is expected to improve in 2020 Q3 and accelerate in 2021. However, output will […]
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 […]
Air Liquide, a supplier of industrial gases, plans to invest more than $100 million to upgrade and extend its Gulf Coast pipeline by 28 miles to serve Steel Dynamics, Inc.’s planned minimill in Sinton, Texas. Under the agreement with SDI, Air Liquide will install a new Air Separation Unit with the capacity to produce more […]
We are seeing further erosion in flat rolled steel pricing this week with the possible exception of Galvalume. Our sources are advising that hot rolled numbers are being offered in the low $400’s for tons. As capacity reopens at integrated mills, the possibility exists for HRC prices to breach the $400 per ton level for […]
After providing Tom Cullen, CEO of Magic Coil Products, a sneak preview of the platform for the 2020 SMU Virtual Steel Summit Conference he told us, “Wow! There is a lot to this.” So far, every single industry executive with whom we have shared insights into our platform (think of a platform as a special […]
Despite bad news on the coronavirus front, as authorities work to keep a surge in COVID-19 infections from derailing the economy once again, sentiment in the steel industry continues to trend positive. Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Indexes are near levels comparable to this time last year, prior to the pandemic. Since early April […]
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 […]
As expected, ferrous scrap prices declined in July, adding downward pressure to already weak finished steel prices. Steel Market Update sources report that obsolete scrap traded down $10-20 per ton, while prime grades were lower by $40 across the country. Scrap supplies have increased at a greater rate than steel production, say the experts, which […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market have fallen from their early June peak as end-user demand, although higher than April and May, remains historically low. Over the near term, sheet prices will fall further as demand is limited by weak underlying economic activity and […]
A measure of the initial report of nonresidential construction projects slipped in June after an upward revision for May. The Dodge Momentum Index posted at 121.5, a 6.6 percent decline from the May index of 130.1. Planning for institutional construction dropped 11.7 percent, while the commercial component fell 3.5 percent. “The Momentum Index has shifted […]
Construction expenditures continued to show a positive but slowing year-over-year growth in May of 1.4 percent, non-seasonally adjusted. Because of the momentum that exists in most construction projects, steel consumption is likely to decline more slowly in building than in manufacturing. Steel Market Update analyzes Commerce Department Construction Put In Place (CPIP) data to provide […]
“Blunt force demand trauma.” That is how Ryerson President & CEO Eddie Lehner described the market environment as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. One really can’t use the word “unprecedented” too much when discussing the effects of the pandemic on the economy and industry, said Lehner. Losing 30 percent of demand in 30 days […]
The U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs in June, exceeding analysts’ expectations once again, according to data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. May’s job gain was revised up by 160,000 to 2,699,000. Figure 1 shows the total number of nonfarm workers in the U.S. since 1990. The net loss since February’s all-time […]
Manufacturing and construction both saw positive growth in employment in June. The net change in employed persons was negative 20.8 million in April followed by positive 2.7 million in May and positive 4.8 million in June. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most […]