ArcelorMittal NAFTA segment results declined in fourth quarter 2016. Steel shipments decreased by 6.6 percent to 5 million tonnes from third quarter driven by an 8.5 percent decrease in flat volumes due to destocking in the United States. NAFTA sales were down 11.1 percent from the prior quarter to $3.8 billion due to lower average […]
The ISM Report on Business indicates expansion of economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector and a 92nd month of growth for the overall economy. The Institute for Supply Management report showed the January manufacturing PMI at 56 percent, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from December. Almost all of the components of the PMI […]
Durable goods orders had an unexpected drop in December, falling 0.4 percent from November. Economists at Wall Street Journal had anticipated a 2.3 percent increase in overall orders. Defense related goods drove most of the decline with a 64 percent decrease in orders for defense aircraft. Orders minus transportation increased 0.5 percent. Core goods, nondefense […]
Manufacturers in the Fifth and Tenth Districts were optimistic about future manufacturing growth during the next six months. The Tenth District, under the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, was especially optimistic on future growth. Richmond Fed The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond reported manufacturing activity strengthened in the Fifth District during January. The composite […]
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in December according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. Growth in the overall economy expanded for the 91st consecutive month, said ISM. The PMI for December reached 54.7, climbing 1.5 percentage points from November. The new orders index jumped 7.2 points to 60.2 from November and […]
Durable goods orders decreased 4.6 percent in November to $228.2 billion, according to the latest report from the Department of Commerce. The drop follows four months of consecutive increases. Durable goods are products designed to have a lifespan of longer than three years, such as machinery and computers. The decline in November was driven by […]
The ISM Report on Business showed economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanding in November for the third month in a row. The PMI, which covers manufacturing activity for the entire United States, rose to 53.2 percent from 51.9 in October. New orders increased by 0.9 points to 53 percent and production rose 1.4 percentage […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The three month moving average (3MMA) of the index had an all-time high of 106.28 in December 2014 and trended down through June this year when it experienced a three month turnaround followed by a slight decline in October to 104.32. Figure […]
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded at a faster rate in October, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The PMI index, which covers manufacturing activity for the entire United States, registered 51.9, a 0.4 increase from September. A reading above 50 indicates expansion of the manufacturing economy and below 50 indicates […]
Manufacturing activity in the Tenth District expanded at a moderate pace in October, according to the latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. “This was the second consecutive month of rising factory activity in the Tenth District, the first time that has happened in nearly two years,” said Reserve Bank of Kansas […]
Orders for durable goods declined 0.1 percent in September after August orders were revised to a 0.3 percent increase. Economists had expected an increase in orders of between 0.1 and 0.2 percent. Volatility in the transportation equipment sector continued with orders decreasing 0.8 percent after two consecutive monthly increases. Excluding transportation, new orders were up […]
The Manufacturing ISM Report on Business showed manufacturing expanding in September after contracting in August. The Institute for Supply Management reports the September PMI was 51.5 percent, up 2.1 percent from the previous month. New orders, production and employment gained 6, 3.2 and 1.4 percentage points, respectively. The index for inventories of raw materials rose […]
Last week’s Federal Reserve manufacturing reports showed mixed results in September. Kansas City, Dallas, and Richmond Federal Reserves all reported expansion in production levels but manufacturing conditions remained soft, especially in the Dallas and Richmond areas. Kansas City The Kansas City index came in at 6.0 for its best reading since December 2014 and its […]
Durable goods orders were flat in August after making gains in July. In the latest report by the Department of Commerce, new orders for manufactured durable goods, excluding transportation were down 0.4 percent, and orders excluding defense were down 1.0 percent. Orders for core capital goods, a proxy for business spending which excludes both military […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The index had an all-time high of 106.70 in November 2014 and trended down until June this year when it experienced a two month turnaround followed by a slight decline in August to 104.402. The three month moving average (3MMA) had positive […]
Manufacturing contracted in August after five consecutive months of growth, according to the latest Manufacturing Report on Business from the Institute of Supply Management. ISM reported the August PMI at 49.4, down 3.2 points from July at 52.6 percent. It was the first time the index has slipped since February of this year. New orders […]
Durable goods orders gained 4.4 percent in July following two months of declines, according to the latest report by the Commerce Department. The rebound was led by a surge in commercial aircraft orders which soared 90 percent after a 50 percent tumble in June. Nearly all categories comprising the new orders index showed increases in […]
Manufacturing activity expanded in July for the fifth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 85th consecutive month, according to supply executives surveyed in the July ISM Report on Business. The PMI registered 52.6 in July, down 0.6 percentage points from June and 2.2 percent above the 12 month average of 50.4. New […]
SSAB Americas results in improve in second quarter due to higher volumes and prices. Sales were SEK 2.8 billion ($323 million) compared to SEK 2.4 billion ($277 million) in first quarter. Shipments improved 11 percent to 526,000 tonnes from 475,000 tonnes in Q1. The company reports good demand from steel service centers and the wind […]
The PMI for the Manufacturing ISM Report on Business rose 1.9 percentage points to 53.2 in June, expanding for the fourth consecutive month. New orders gained 1.3 points and production 2.1 percentage points for readings of 57.0 and 54.7, respectively. The employment index grew 1.2 points to 50.4 percent. Inventories of raw materials registered 48.5, […]
New orders for manufactured durable goods fell 2.2 percent in May to $230.7 billion after a revised gain of 3.3 percent in April, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. A Wall Street Journal survey of economists forecast a 0.4 percent drop while Bloomberg predicted a decline of 0.5 percent. May’s decline was broad-based across almost […]
Manufacturing grew for the third straight month according to supply executives surveyed in the ISM Manufacturing Report on Business. The May PMI was 51.3, up 0.5 percent from April. Although the PMI didn’t have a large gain, the three month upward trend is good news since the PMI was in contraction (below 50) from October […]
New orders for durable goods in April increased 3.4 percent to $235.9 billion from March’s upwardly revised figure of 1.9 percent, according to the advance report from the Department of Commerce. Durable goods are manufactured products that are expected to last at least three years. Transportation orders led the increase with a jump of 8.9 […]
One of the most over used and misunderstood terms in the steel industry is “value added.” What exactly does “value” and “value added” mean when discussing steel distribution in particular? When asking the question, the first response I tend to get is about the “value proposition” or how perceived value relates to price, service and […]
The April 2016 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business reported the April PMI registered at 50.8 percent, a decrease of 1.0 percent from March. The PMI reading above 50 indicates that manufacturing activity on a national basis expanded for the second month in a row after five consecutive months of contraction. The growth in manufacturing was […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. This month the historical data has been revised and we have updated our files back to January 2000. The index had an all-time high of 106.40 in January 2015 but on a month over month basis has declined for 13 of the […]
In what is hoped to be good news for the steel industry, manufacturing as measured by the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business expanded for the first time in six months. The PMI, or Purchasing Managers Index, increased 2.3 percentage points to register 51.8 from a reading of 49.5, indicating expansion in manufacturing and the […]
The U.S. manufacturing sector in February remained in contraction for the fifth consecutive month according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The PMI did better than expected by economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays who predicted a headline index of 48 and 47.5, respectively. The February PMI increased 1.3 percentage […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The index had an all-time high of 107.9108 in December 2014 but on a month over month basis has declined for nine of the last thirteen months. January was a welcome respite with an increase of 0.92 percent, which is huge, and […]
Steel Market Update received the following press release from the US Department of Commerce International Trade Administration regarding the release of the preliminary determination for the hot rolled countervailing duty portion of the hot rolled trade case: On January 11, 2016, the Department of Commerce is scheduled to announce its preliminary determinations in the CVD […]