Russel Metals has remained profitable despite wild swings in steel prices caused by U.S. tariffs, coupled with weak energy prices and declining rig counts. The Canadian distributor reported net income of $77 million on revenues of $3.7 billion in full-year 2019. Results were down significantly from the prior year when the company saw a profit […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices bounced back in the past week with Tropical Cyclone Damien forcing Port Hedland and Rio Tinto’s two ports to shut for three to six days. This resulted in ~10 Mt of shipments taken out of the seaborne market. At the same time, the sentiment in the […]
Net job creation in January was an encouraging 225,000, up from 147,000 in November, but down from the exceptional result of 261,000 in October. In the January report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) made substantial historical revisions. In this SMU analysis, we revised our data back to January 2017. Rising employment and wages are […]
January’s employment report was a downer for manufacturing, but construction was particularly strong. The net increase in employed persons was 225,000 in January, of which 108,000 were in health, education and leisure activities. In January, 44,000 jobs were created in construction and 12,000 jobs lost in manufacturing. The private sector gained 206,000 jobs in January […]
The Super Bowl is done, the Grammys are behind us, the Oscars selected a foreign film (Parasite from South Korea) for the first time as Best Movie. The Iowa caucus presented more questions than answers. Today is the New Hampshire primary and the first votes finally are being cast to see who the Democrats will […]
The American Trucking Association appealed for the implementation of a fuel tax to support highway and border infrastructure during recent testimony in Washington by President and CEO Chris Spear. “The fuel tax is the most immediate, cost-efficient and conservative mechanism currently available for funding surface transportation projects and programs. Collection costs are less than 1 […]
The Dodge Momentum Index fell 2.7 percent in January to 152.5 following four months of gains. The index is a measure of the first report of nonresidential projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending by a full year. Planning for commercial projects increased 2.7 percent, but a 11.0 percent decline in […]
Ferrous scrap prices for February are down around $20-30/GT for obsolete grades and $10-20/GT for prime grades, report Steel Market Update sources, adding to the downward pressure already being felt on finished steel prices. “This price trend is in line with the 10-year average price movement for February,” said CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley. “Buying […]
ArcelorMittal posted a net loss of $1.9 billion for the fourth quarter of 2019. In comparison, the global steelmaker posted a loss of $539 million in Q3 and a net profit of $1.19 billion in Q4 2018. For the entire year 2019, ArcelorMittal posted a net loss of $2.5 billion compared to net income of […]
By CRU Senior Analysts Dina Yu and Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Zinc Monitor The outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Wuhan has delayed the post-New Year restart in most Chinese mainland provinces, with the exception of Tibet, Xinjiang and Gansu. Sadly, the death toll and infection rate continue to rise, so restrictions remain in place […]
The frightening coronavirus outbreak in China has disrupted manufacturing and construction, which may lead to lower steel prices. Commerce at China’s many ports has also been impacted to varying degrees, reports a Steel Market Update source in Beijing. At some Chinese ports, ships are able to berth and unberth as normal. In other locations, loading […]
By CRU’s China Steel Team, with Senior Analysts Richard Lu and Erik Hedborg. On Monday, Feb. 3, financial markets and commodity trade resumed after the extended Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday caused by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Equity markets fell sharply as fears of economic slowdown prompted investors to push the sell button. […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The November and December results for construction spending are suggesting a turnaround. December’s growth rate was the best in the past 13 months. The growth of private construction almost […]
Construction spending slowed in December, but contractors remain optimistic about new projects for 2020. Construction spending dipped 0.2 percent from November to December due to a decline in nonresidential project spending. A 1.4 percent jump in private residential spending, supported by a 2.7 percent increase in single-family home construction, failed to offset a decline in […]
U.S. Steel reported a net loss of $680 million for the fourth quarter of 2019 and a loss of $642 million for the year, but counts the quarter a success by exceeding its previously lowered Q4 expectations. The steelmaker sees last year as one of notable strategic progress. Sales for the year totaled $12.9 billion, […]
Both steel and scrap prices increased in the month of January, raising with them optimism levels over market conditions one month into the new year. The average price for hot rolled steel rose by about $30 per ton in January. The benchmark price for hot rolled peaked at $610 per ton in mid-January, but ended the […]
Key Market Indicators show that the improvement in market trends that occurred in December continued into January. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data SMU has reported in detail during the month. It summarizes 36 data streams that describe the state of the steel market and provide forward guidance for […]
It’s Super Bowl Sunday! I will try to keep my comments short so we can all enjoy the game and worry about the steel markets in the morning. On Thursday and Friday of this past week I was in Ponte Vedra, Fla., as I was speaking to the Steel Manufacturers Association. The SMA are the […]
Demand is looking good for the steel industry this year, especially in the construction sector, said panel members on the Steel Manufacturers Association media call today. Dave Sumoski, Nucor Executive Vice President – Merchant and Rebar Products, noted that construction is a major area for Nucor. The market for steel bar is very strong with […]
The following article discussing the global ferrous derivatives markets was written by David Feldstein. As an independent steel market analyst, advisor and trader, we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Note that Steel Market Update does not take any positions on HRC or scrap trading, and any recommendations or comments […]
By Principal Analyst James Campbell, from CRU’s Steel Plate Products Market Outlook The coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan has led to Chinese New Year holidays being extended and transportation restrictions introduced in order to contain the spread of the virus. Steel demand is normally weak during this period, but production continues as usual. Every day of […]
The U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index, a quarterly analysis of freight volumes and spending, fell 4.0 percent in the fourth quarter after gaining a total of 10 percent in the second and third quarters. Both volumes and spending dropped during the quarter due to weaker economic activity and impacts from the international trade market. The […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The presidential proclamation announcing new tariffs on “derivative” steel and aluminum articles was published in the Jan. 29 Federal Register (85 Fed. Reg. 5281). There are two Annexes that detail the products covered by the new tariffs: 1. “Aluminum […]
Nucor beat analysts’ estimates for the fourth quarter, reporting net earnings of $107.8 million due to an unexpected surge in sales during December. “Stronger than expected steel mill segment performance in December was the primary driver for higher actual fourth-quarter earnings than we indicated in our mid-December quantitative guidance,” said Leon Topalian, Nucor’s new president […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen Given the importance of China to our industry, this Insight sets out the potential impact of the Wuhan coronavirus on commodity markets. Using the SARS episode as a benchmark, the impact on Chinese GDP and industrial production could be as large as 1 percent—but that estimate comes with a […]
SSAB Americas posted a loss of $23 million (-222 million SEK) for the fourth quarter of 2019 due to lower realized steel prices and maintenance costs associated with a planned outage in Mobile, Ala. Heavy plate demand was good in the first half of the year, but weakened in the fourth quarter due to inventory […]
The Department of Commerce announced the affirmative final determinations in the antidumping duty and countervailing duty investigations of imports of fabricated structural steel from Canada (AD only), China and Mexico, and a negative final determination in the CVD investigation of FSS from Canada. Canada and Mexico have been assigned antidumping rates of 6.7 percent and […]
New home sales were essentially flat in December, edging down 0.4 percent from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 694,000, according the latest data by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Compared to December 2018, sales increased 23.0 percent. Sales for the full year, however, rose 10 […]
Prices of all five of the raw materials considered in this report advanced in the last month. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through Jan. 22 of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, 3 months/3 months and 12 months/12 months changes on a percentage basis. All five materials had a […]
Steel buyers sentiment continued to improve through mid-January with Steel Market Update’s Current Sentiment Index registering +63, its highest reading since November 2018. Sentiment has been on the rise since October when it hit a low of +26, its most pessimistic reading since June 2013. (Historical low was in March 2009 when it hit -85.) […]