Steel Market Update canvassed flat rolled and plate steel buyers over the past two days and discovered hot rolled coil is by far the strongest product, followed by demand for plate. Both are connected to the energy markets, which are very strong right now. Our sources are also telling us construction, especially commercial construction, is […]
ArcelorMittal Mexico is requesting that government officials impose permanent tariffs on the import of steel slabs into Mexico from non-free-trade agreement countries. “Mexican slabs are without protection and we are working jointly and permanently with the SE to find a mechanism that could protect domestic production of slab from imports, which are impacting our ability […]
NLMK USA has requested tariff exclusion on the import of slabs under Section 232, but has received blowback from several U.S. steel mills. Nucor, U.S. Steel and AK Steel have filed objections to the request, arguing that there is sufficient slab supply in the United States to supply NLMK yet the company continues to buy […]
The Dodge Momentum Index, a measure of the first report for nonresidential buildings in planning and an indicator of future construction, rose 1.8 percent in May to a score of 167.8. Commercial construction planning drove the increase in May, gaining 4.7 percent while the institutional component of the Index fell 2.4 percent. Dodge Data & […]
Total construction spending through April has expanded for eight straight months, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Commerce Department data. The growth of total construction on a rolling three-month basis year over year has increased every month since August last year and reached 6.0 percent in April. Construction expenditures data is developed by […]
In the last 12 months, manufacturing employment has grown by 2.1 percent and construction employment by 4.1 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data—both positive indicators of future steel sales. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most of the goods-producing employees work […]
Net job creation in May hit 223,000 seasonally adjusted. Year over year, 2,363,000 jobs have been created, an increase of 1.6 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data. Rising employment and wages are the basis of GDP growth because personal consumption accounts for almost 70 percent of GDP. Steel consumption is related to […]
With the Trump administration eliminating the Section 232 tariff exclusions for Canada, Mexico and the European Union, it is our opinion that the squeeze on supply coupled with higher prices due to the tariff will provide cover for the domestic steel mills to raise flat rolled and plate steel prices. SMU last moved our Price […]
Consumers in the United States may soon see their favorite products increase in price or become harder to find. In retaliation for Section 232 tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum, Canada plans to impose its own 25 percent and 10 percent tariffs on a wide variety of goods. The 25 percent tariff is restricted to […]
Construction employment continued to expand, increasing by 25,000 jobs to 7,210,000 for the month of May, according to an analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Employers added 286,000 jobs over the past year. Construction employment grew 4.1 percent over the past 12 months, significantly higher than the 1.6 percent rise […]
Global steel production was at an all-time high in March and declined only slightly in April. Production declined by 0.07 percent in April month over month and grew by 4.0 percent in three months through April year over year, according to the latest Steel Market Update analysis of World Steel Association data. China grew by […]
Home prices are continuing to rise, according to the latest S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller Index. The U.S. National Home Price NSA Index gained 6.45 percent in March. The 20-City composite was up 6.8 percent year-over-year with no change from the previous month. Seattle, Las Vegas, and San Francisco reported the highest year-over-year gains, at 23.0 percent, […]
The Architecture Billings Index rose modestly in April posting a score of 52.0, indicating a seventh consecutive month of growth and a one point gain from March. New project inquiries, an indicator for future billings, fell to 56.7 from the March score of 58.1, reported the American Institute of Architects. Labor shortages, higher prices for […]
Sales of new homes softened in April after a 4 percent jump in March and a relatively strong first quarter. Sales of new single-family homes dipped 1.5 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 662,000, according to Commerce Department data. New home sales still exceeded the year-ago rate by 11.6 percent. The […]
Steel demand has remained surprisingly strong in 2018, even as prices have escalated and trade disputes have made purchasing riskier. But Steel Market Update data suggests that demand may be weakening. SMU canvasses the flat rolled steel market every two weeks. A clear majority (62 percent) of the respondents to the May 14 questionnaire indicated […]
Calstrip Industries announced plans to build a $15 million steel processing plant on the Nucor campus near Blytheville, Ark. The 100,000-square-foot first phase of the facility will be adjacent to Nucor Arkansas’ new specialty cold rolled mill, currently under construction. Calstrip will operate slitting and multi-blank cut-to-length lines at the Arkansas location and will create […]
Michael Barnett has been appointed president and chief operating officer of Grand Steel Products, Inc., Wixom, Mich., transitioning the company leadership from his father Jim Barnett. “It is with great pleasure, excitement and confidence that I announce Michael Barnett has been appointed president and COO of Grand Steel Products, Inc.,” stated company founder Jim Barnett. […]
Housing starts slowed in April, falling 3.6 percent from revised March data to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,287,000. Compared to a year ago, starts increased 10.5 percent, reports the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Most of the April decline was a result of a 12.6 percent plunge in multifamily housing after making […]
Steel prices are way up and likely to move even higher given events on the trade front. But, so far, they have not hurt demand in the HVAC sector, reported members of the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) on Tuesday during the trade association’s monthly steel conference call. John Packard, publisher of Steel […]
Distributors of products for the HVAC sector expect prices for steel, especially galvanized, to drop in the coming weeks or months. Demand remains strong, they report, but they are keeping inventories lean in anticipation of declining prices. “There is a greater likelihood that prices will go down than go up. With the lead times being […]
Carbon steel prices have escalated at a lower rate than aluminum, but higher than plastic and wood. Truck transportation prices are rising faster than rail, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last week, the BLS released its series of producer price indexes (PPIs) for more than 10,000 goods and materials […]
ArcelorMittal NAFTA posted sales of $4.8 billion for the first quarter of 2018, up 10.6 percent sequentially. Steel shipments increased 4.8 percent from the fourth quarter to 5.9 million metric tons driven by higher volume of flat products due to improved market fundamentals. Average selling price increased 3.5 percent for flat products and 9.1 percent […]
The California Energy Commission voted unanimously last week to require solar panels for new homes beginning in 2020. Included in the plan are new single-family homes, condos and apartment buildings up to three stories high. “Homes under the (new) standards will use about 50 percent less energy than those under the previous 2016 standards,” said […]
Construction costs are surging as tariffs drive prices up for a wide range of building materials, said a new analysis of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Firms are facing higher input prices that they are unable to pass along to customers. “Contractors have started to boost the prices they charge, […]
Employment increases in manufacturing and construction are signposts for steel sales activity. 2018 is starting off well. Rising employment and wages are the basis of GDP growth because personal consumption accounts for almost 70 percent of GDP. Steel consumption is related to GDP; therefore, we need to be aware of changes to the employment picture. […]
Construction employment gained 17,000 jobs in April, according to a new analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. In the last 12 months, the industry added 257,000 jobs, an increase of 3.7 percent. Higher pay is attracting former construction workers back into the market, said AGC. The association cautioned, however, that […]
The Dodge Momentum Index, a first report for nonresidential building projects in planning, jumped 6.1 percent in April to 163.0. Commercial and institutional components of the Index both rose 5.3 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively. “Over the last two months, the commercial portion of the Momentum Index has posted the most aggressive growth, fueled by […]
Last week Steel Market Update conducted our early May 2018 flat rolled and plate steel market trends survey. We sent invitations to 640 individuals representing approximately 620 companies mostly located in the United States and Canada. The purpose of our inquiries is to better follow various trends affecting the flat rolled and plate markets. We […]
Total construction spending has expanded for seven straight months, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Department of Commerce data. The growth of total construction on a rolling 12-month basis year over year increased from 2.1 percent in January to 2.2 percent in February to 2.3 percent in March this year. On a rolling […]
Construction employment increased in 245 out of 358 metro areas between March 2017 and March 2018, declined in 67, and stagnated in 46, according to a new analysis of federal employment data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that the new figures come amid questions about how a possible trade war […]