The month of September saw steel prices continue a steady decline that began in August. Steel Market Update data in the table below shows the benchmark hot rolled price slid from more than $900 per ton in the summer to the current price around $854. The same for cold rolled, which went from $1,000 a […]
U.S. Steel is not opening eight new steel plants. No matter how many times President Trump claims that they are. In a wide-ranging press conference this week in advance of the hearing of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump commented on a number of issues including the economy and his steel tariffs. Once again, […]
Construction employment increased in 287 out of 358 metro areas (80 percent) between August 2017 and August 2018, declined in 35 (10 percent) and was unchanged in 36, according to a new analysis of federal employment data by the Associated General Contractors of America. “The increases in construction employment have been showing up in more […]
PTC Alliance has reached a new four-year labor agreement with union workers at its Alliance, Ohio, plant. PTC Alliance manufactures welded and cold drawn mechanical steel tubing. The company employs about 220 workers covered by the Steelworkers contract, signed Sept. 23. Terms of the pact were not disclosed. The company’s relations with the union have […]
TransCanada plans to begin construction on the Keystone XL pipeline next year now that the State Department has released an environmental review for an alternative route through Nebraska. A report released Friday by the State Department concluded that it is unlikely a pipeline leak would cause major environmental damage due to extensive safeguards put in […]
Home prices grew at a slower rate in July, according to the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index. The National Home Price NSA Index posted an annual gain of 6.0 percent, down from 6.2 percent in June. The 20-City Composite was at an 11-month low, posting a 5.9 percent year-over-year increase compared to 6.4 percent in […]
Forty-five states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between August 2017 and August 2018, while 33 states added construction jobs between July and August, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of data from the Labor Department. “Only three states experienced a decline in construction employment over the past […]
Construction employment increased by 23,000 jobs in September and by 315,000 jobs over the past year, reaching a 10-year high, while the industry’s unemployment rate decreased more than half a percentage point to 4.1 percent from a year earlier, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Even […]
Housing starts rebounded in August after a lackluster gain in July. Data from HUD and Commerce show new residential housing starts jumped 9.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,282,000 from the upwardly revised July SAAR of 1,174,000. Starts were 9.4 percent higher than August 2017. The increase took economists by surprise and […]
Existing-home sales were flat in August, halting a four-month decline, said the National Association of Realtors. Sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.34 million last month, down 1.5 percent from a year ago. “Strong gains in the Northeast and a moderate uptick in the Midwest […]
Construction costs are escalating due to labor costs and tariffs on critical materials. Although declining 0.8 percent from July to August, prices for construction goods such as diesel fuel, steel, aluminum, asphalt and gypsum products have risen 6.2 percent since the beginning of the year, said the Associated General Contractors of America in a recent […]
This article is regularly published for our Premium users, but we decided to share it with our entire readership this month. If you are interested in upgrading to a Premium subscription, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475. Carbon steel tubular products have a rate of price escalation much higher than plastic products. This is also […]
Hurricane Florence is expected to take a toll on shipments from the Carolinas and Virginia. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, trucks were in short supply for regular freight shipments as many were diverted to the storm-affected areas to help with recovery efforts. If Florence causes similar damage, that scenario could be repeated. Truckload spot […]
Major leading economic indicators are all telling the same story—that U.S. economic growth is slowing, with little effect likely from the Trump administration tax cut, reported economist Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics in his remarks Aug. 29 at the Steel Market Update steel summit in Atlanta. While an average GDP growth of 2.6 percent in […]
The U.S. economy created 201,000 net jobs in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from 147,000 in July, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. This is the last employment report before the next FOMC meeting on Sept. 26 when the Feds are expected to raise interest rates for the third time this […]
Net job creation in August totaled 201,000 positions. Manufacturing took a small step back, but year to date the results are good, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most […]
A second contract proposal by U.S. Steel to United Steelworkers has been met with disdain by the USW bargaining committee. U.S. Steel’s Sept. 12 proposal calls for a six-year term with wage increases of 4 percent the first year followed by 2 percent annually the following five years. Workers would receive a $4,000 ratification bonus […]
The Dodge Momentum Index fell 2.9 percent in August to a reading of 164.1. The Momentum index is a monthly measure of the initial report for nonresidential building projects in planning. Commercial construction led the decrease, falling by 6.1 percent after rising 25 percent in the first seven months of 2018. “While commercial planning did fall […]
Construction employment is at a 10-year high and industry unemployment is at an all-time low, according to a new analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. The industry added 23,000 jobs in August and 297,000 jobs over the past year. Construction employment in August totaled 7,259,000, the highest level since May […]
Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products from Canada and Mexico are back in the spotlight now that NAFTA talks are, hopefully, nearing an end. Steel associations from Canada and Mexico are calling for the tariffs to be terminated while the negotiations are under way. Mexican association Canacero has stated that a NAFTA deal […]
Global steel production in July hit an annual rate of 1.855 billion metric tons. Capacity is calculated to be 2.38 billion metric tons; therefore, capacity utilization was 78 percent, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis of World Steel Association data. In three months through July, Chinese production grew by 10.5 percent year over […]
Construction is on a roll with expenditures in July at an all-time high, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Commerce Department data. In the Sept. 4 data release which reported expenditures through July, the growth of total construction on a rolling 12-month basis year over year increased from 2.1 percent in January to […]
Construction spending increased 0.1 percent from June to July and 5.2 percent for seven months of 2018 combined, with year-to-date growth for most major public and private categories, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said sustained growth will depend in part on contractors’ ability […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: I am just back from Atlanta, where I attended the SMU Steel Summit. I was pleased to be able to speak to many steel industry folks concerned about the steel tariffs, the China tariffs and […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: I am just back from Atlanta, where I attended the SMU Steel Summit. I was pleased to be able to speak to many steel industry folks concerned about the steel tariffs, the China tariffs and […]
Labor shortages are highlighted in a new survey released by the Associated General Contractors of America and Autodesk. In a survey of more than 25,000 respondents, 80 percent of firms report they cannot find enough hourly craft workers to fill the positions that make up the bulk of the construction industry. The problem is widespread […]
Sales of both new and existing homes declined in July as higher prices impacted affordability for buyers. Existing home sales fell for the fourth consecutive month in July, dipping 0.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.34 million. Sales are 1.5 percent below a year ago, said the National Association of Realtors. Sales […]
Architecture billings growth slowed in July, according to the American Institute of Architects. The AIA Architecture Billings Index slipped to 50.7 from 51.3 in June. A score over 50 indicates billing growth, but on a regional basis only the South registered growing demand with an index reading of 55.2. Regional averages in the remainder of […]
SMU was at the Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway hotel so we could get a lay of the land and see how disruptive their renovations are going to be to guests attending the 8th SMU Steel Summit Conference next week. The only negative noticed during our overnight stay was some minor construction noise, which was not […]
Editor’s note: The following was contributed by analysts at the CRU Group. The Turkish-U.S. political relationship has soured sharply in the past week. U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted relations were “not so good” on Friday, Aug. 10, and doubled tariffs on U.S. imports of Turkish steel. Turkish President Erdogan responded with anger, suggesting the country […]