Durable goods orders unexpectedly fell 1.3 percent in September for a second consecutive monthly decline. The drop follows a tumble of 18.3 percent in August. Economists were forecasting a gain of 0.5 percent for September. The disappointing performance may lead economists to revise forecasts for the third quarter GDP scheduled for release on Thursday. Current […]
The Canadian economy was flat in July following six months of gains according to data released by Statistics Canada on Sept. 30, 2014. GDP growth was unchanged, failing to meet economist forecasts of 0.2 to 0.3 percent growth. Manufacturing output grew by 1 percent. Durable goods rose 1.6 percent with notable increases in transportation equipment, […]
Durable goods orders in August fell back to the long term trend line after the huge surge in July, continuing the healthy trend that has existed since the recession (Figure 1). The three month moving average (3MMA) increased for the sixth straight month (Figure 2). The year over year growth rate of the 3MMA grew […]
Industrial production (IP) and manufacturing capacity utilization for August 2014: Both of these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP index was reported as 104.12 for August, a decline of 0.1 percent from July. This is another example where the individual month’s result can be misleading. The three month […]
Durable goods orders increased 22.6 percent in July, or $55.3 billion to $300.2 billion, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The increase was the highest level seen since the series was first published in 1992. Excluding defense, new orders increased 24.9 percent. Transportation equipment drove the increase with a gain of 74.2 […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts out its series of Producer Price Indexes (PPI) for thousands of goods and materials. The latest release on Friday reported July results. These statistics are a useful way to evaluate any changes in the competitive position of steel against competing materials and rail vs truck transportation. […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report on non-farm employment indicated that 209,000 jobs were added in July, June was revised up by 10,000 to 298,000 and May up by 5,000 to 229,000. The three month moving average, (3MMA) declined to 245,000 in July after four consecutive months of growth beginning in February at 150,000, […]
On Wednesday this week the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released the advance estimate of Q2 2014 Annual Revision of the National Income and Product Accounts. In addition to the regular revision of estimates for the most recent 3 years and for the first quarter of 2014, GDP and select components were revised back to […]
The SMU Key Market Indicators is a Premium Level product produced by Peter Wright in collaboration with Steel Market Update. Our Executive Level members have been getting access to all of the Premium Level data for the month of July (today is the last day). This includes access to all of the Premium data which […]
Durable goods orders increased 0.7 percent after dropping 1.0 percent in May, according to data released by the US. Census Bureau. New orders, excluding transportation, increased 0.8 percent. Excluding defense, new orders increased 0.7 percent. Machinery led the advance in June with a 2.4 percent increase in new orders. “Durable goods orders climbed 0.7% in […]
As you may have noticed, we have been writing a series of articles highlighting the benefits of our Premium membership. Through the end of July, our Executive members will have access to our Premium content. If you have not yet explored our Premium content, such as SMU’s survey data or imports by product/port/country, I would […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report on non-farm employment indicated that 288,000 jobs were added in June, May was revised up by 7,000 to 224,000 and April up by 22,000 to 304,000. The three month moving average (3MMA) rose to 272,000 after four consecutive months of growth beginning in February at 150,000, (Figure 1). […]
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) estimate of US GDP growth was a shocker at negative 2.9 percent, this came after the first estimate which was positive 0.1 percent and the second estimate at negative 1.0 percent. This raises the question of whether early estimates are worth considering. The first estimate for the second quarter […]
Durable Goods, a measure of the health of the steel industry and economy, saw new orders fall 1 percent after three months of increases. Shipments, Unfilled Orders, and Inventories all increased 1 percent or less. Capital goods orders for non-defense and defense items decreased in May. The Commerce Department’s GDP report showed a decline of […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics, (BLS) puts out its series of producer price indexes, for thousands of goods and materials. The latest release on Friday reported May results. These statistics are a useful way to evaluate any changes in the competitive position of steel against competing materials and this month for the first […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report on non-farm employment indicated that 217,000 jobs were added in May, April was revised down by 6,000 to 282,000 and March was unchanged. The three month moving average (3MMA) rose from 190,000 in March to 236,000 in April then declined by 2,000 in May, (Figure 1). All numbers […]
Durable Goods, a measure of the health of the steel industry, saw new orders increase for the fourth consecutive month in April ,continuing the healthy trend that has existed since the recession. Both March and April were above trend, (Figure 1). The three month moving average (3MMA) increased in both March and April, (Figure 2). […]
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and the law firm of Stewart and Stewart recently released its publication “Surging Steel Imports Put Up to Half a Million U.S. Jobs at Risk.” The publication was released in support of the domestic steel industry and their unions and contends that unfairly traded imports are costing the U.S. jobs […]
The Canada Monthly Survey of Manufacturing, March 2014 was just released indicating a 0.4 percent improvement in manufacturing sales in March. Higher sales were seen in food, machinery and plastics & rubber, but were offset by declines in paper, petroleum and coal products. Two thirds of the manufacturing sector had increased sales in March with […]
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released their first estimate of real GDP today, (April 30th) for Q1 2014. GDP rose in the fourth quarter by 2.6 percent but declined to 0.1 percent in the first estimate for Q1 2014. Figure 1 shows quarterly results since 1990 with the IMF forecast through 2018. The Q1 […]
Durable goods orders increased in February continuing the healthy trend that has existed since the recession (Figure 1). However the three month moving average (3MMA) declined as November’s above trend result was dropped from the calculation (Figure 2). The year over year growth rate of the 3MMA has progressively declined from 7.9 percent in November […]
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released their third estimate of real GDP today, (March 27th) for Q4 2013. The third is normally the final estimate though there sometimes are revisions further back in time. GDP rose in the fourth quarter by 2.6 percent at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, this was an upward revision […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts out its series of producer price indexes for thousands of goods and materials. The latest release on Friday reported February results. These statistics are a useful way to evaluate any changes in the competitive position of steel against competing materials. See below for the official description […]
Orders for durable goods decreased $2.2 billion or 1.0 percent in January to $225 billion according to the US Census Bureau’s advance report. Orders have been down three of the last four months and followed a 5.3 percent decline in December. The three month moving average fell for the second consecutive month, dropping 1.23 percent […]
Friday’s report has been well publicized as disappointing at 113,000 jobs created especially following the December result at 76,000. Less well appreciated is that the January report made revisions to data on payrolls, the workweek and earnings going back to 2009. Revisions to this data, which is drawn from a survey of employers, showed 369,000 […]
Durable goods orders declined in December as did the three month moving average. Not a cause for concern at this point because even the 3MA of this indicator tends to be quite erratic (Figure 1). The year over year growth rate of the 3MMA declined from 7.9 percent in November to 5.1 percent in December. […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out its series of producer price indexes (PPI), for thousands of goods and materials. The latest release on Wednesday reported December results. These statistics are a useful way to evaluate any changes in the competitive position of steel against competing materials. See below for the official description […]
The following is a summary from the U.S. Census Bureau advanced report on durable goods for November. The revised and more detailed estimates will be released by the Bureau on January 6, 2014. New Orders: New orders for manufactured durable goods in November increased $8.2 billion or 3.5 percent to $241.6 billion. Transportation equipment led […]
The first estimate of Q3 GDP growth from the Bureau of Economic Analysis surprised on the upside with a growth of 2.82 percent annualized, the second estimate came in at 3.6 percent and the third at 4.1 percent, well within the range that results in the growth of steel demand. GDP in Q3 2013 was […]
U.S. industrial production jumped 1.1 percent in November after inching up a revised 0.1 percent in October, according to information released by the Federal Reserve Board on Dec. 16. Manufacturing output increased 0.6 percent for its fourth consecutive monthly gain. Utilities saw a surge of 3.9 percent as winter weather boosted demand for heating. Automobile […]