SMU sources advised that US Steel Great Lakes had a furnace issue due to a leaking water line and a weld gas explosion. They were down for about a shift and are now back up and working for the time being. I wrote the Price Momentum article this evening to make sure that there was […]
Manufacturing activity continued to improve in the Philadelphia area during January and is expected to continue to do so for the next six months, according to the latest Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The index for current manufacturing index rose from 19.7 in December to 23.6 in January for […]
The steel industry does not seem to be concerned about the transition of power as Donald Trump becomes the 45th President of the United States. There have been a number of cabinet appointees who have testified about the domestic steel industry and the need to “level the playing field” by taking governments, such as China, […]
Wilbur Ross, Trump nominee for Commerce Secretary, talked tariffs on China during Wednesday’s confirmation hearings. The billionaire investor, who was instrumental in turning around ailing steel mills such as LTV Steel in 2002, appears to be a solid supporter of President-elect Trump’s strong-arm approach to trade. “One of the things that we do need very […]
The January Empire State Manufacturing Survey in January declined -1.1 from December to 6.5. The general business index reading was positive for the third consecutive month indicating that business activity continues to expand in New York State. New orders and shipments remained positive but fell by 7.3 and 1.3 points, respectively. Unfilled orders posted a […]
We were asked a question by one of our readers regarding importations of fabricated steel products. They wanted to know how can their company be assured the roll-formed products made from steels covered under the AD/CVD orders are exempt from the scope of the orders. We turned around and asked trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz to […]
The idled US Steel McKeesport Tubular mill in Pennsylvania is coming back to life in 2017. Dura-Bond Industries, a pipe manufacturer and coater headquartered in Export, PA, has leased the mill and plans to restart production after approval and upgrades are made. Jason Norris, president of Dura-Bond, confirmed the purchase of equipment from US Steel […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As Flack Steel’s director of risk management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing Futures articles for […]
Union Corrugating Company, based in Fayette, NC, has been acquired by Industrial Opportunity Partners. The acquisition preserves Union’s current managing team while adding IOP operating Principal Dave Mackin as Chairman. Keith Medick will continue to serve as Union’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “I am personally excited to work with Union’s management team and employees […]
AK Steel and NLMK USA raised flat rolled steel prices by $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) on all new spot sales of flat rolled steels (hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized). At the same time, SMU understands that Steel Dynamics has opened their order books for February and are quoting prices that are approximately $40 per ton […]
Commercial Metals Company announced net sales of $1.1 billion for earnings of $7.2 million for first quarter 2017, ending Nov. 30, 2016. Metal margins in the Americas Mills segment took a hit of 17 percent in Q1 due to lower selling prices resulting from continued import pressure, scrap price volatility and market uncertainty. Average selling price […]
Another major automaker says it will invest in U.S. facilities and add jobs to the industry. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US said on Sunday that it will invest $1 billion at plants in Michigan and Ohio to produce new Jeep vehicles in a plan that was originated long before the presidential election. The investment is the […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics employment reports, both national and regional, are fundamental to our understanding of where the various steel consuming sectors are headed. In this analysis we are examining multiple data sources to try to develop a broad base of understanding. This data complements other more specific information on construction and manufacturing activities […]
As expected, the domestic steel mills began 2017 right where they left off. Another $30-$40 per ton of price increases on top of the $140 per ton of increases leveled on their spot customers since late October through the end of 2016. The key from here is if business, both at the steel mills, as […]
The steel buyers and sellers of steel who responded to our first flat rolled steel market trends survey of the New Year foretold the move by AK Steel to raise flat rolled steel prices late on Friday. Eighty-one percent of the respondents reported that they were expecting another flat rolled steel price increase (the 5th […]
Shipping wound down for 2016 with mixed reports. Seaborne rates hit bottom and began an upward climb. U.S. river traffic was sluggish due to holidays and weather. U.S. rail volume, down overall for 2016, picked up in the final week of December. U.S. truck rates increased and shipping volume surged due to holiday delivery and […]
On a single data basis both our Current Steel Buyers Sentiment Index and Future Sentiment Index are at the record highs for our index. Current Sentiment, which is how buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful in the existing market environment, came in at +71 this week. […]
Global manufacturing reached a three year high in December, finishing out the year with the JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI at 52.7, up from 52.1 in November. After a flat first half, the second half of 2016 showed steady growth in the manufacturing sector. The December survey by IHS Markit indicates global manufacturing is growing at […]
Precision Metalforming Association members are looking forward to a spike in economic activity in the first quarter of 2017. The December 2016 survey of 115 metalforming companies in the U.S. and Canada shows 43 percent are expecting improved activity in the next three months, up from 21 percent in November. New orders are expected to […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. November data for CPIP was released on Tuesday, January 3rd. The most notable feature of this update was the apparent response to the $305 billion infrastructure in the bill that Congress […]
Ford Motor Company announced today that it is canceling plans to build a new plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and will invest in electrical vehicle production in the U.S. About half of the $1.6 billion that was designated for the Mexican plant will be used instead to expand the Flat Rock Assembly Plant in […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. This will explain the difference between our view of the present situation which is subjective and our analysis of trends which is based on the latest facts available. Looking back from the […]
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 […]
For the first time this month we will summarize six data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the US. We have reported on most of these six sources separately in our Steel Market Update publications therefore will be brief in this summary. We don’t expect these data sources to all point in the […]
Manufacturing surveys by the Federal Reserve Banks of Dallas and Richmond indicated that manufacturers are expecting positive business conditions in the first half of 2017. Activity is expected to be stronger in the Fifth District area than Texas but both regions see improvement conditions in the New Year. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Manufacturing activity […]
China GDP is expected to slow to 6.5 percent next year and decline to 6.4 percent by third and fourth quarters. A report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) said economic expansion is likely to dip next year due to declines in export demand, investment growth and domestic demand. The Dec. 19 […]
SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index has reversed trend and is rising (getting more optimistic) as we prepare to move into the New Year. On Monday of this week Steel Market Update (SMU) began conducting our mid-December flat rolled steel market trends analysis. We completed our inquiries earlier today (Thursday, December 22, 2016) and we are […]
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 […]
AK Steel has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a new grade of energy efficient steel for electric motors. Under the scope of the project AK Steel will explore different chemical compositions added in to the existing composition of standard electrical steels to increase the resistivity of […]
Worthington Industries announced second quarter 2017 net earnings (ending Nov. 30, 2016) were $46.6 million on $727.8 million in net sales. In comparison Q2 earnings were down from first quarter earnings of $65.6 million but double that of Q2 2016. “We had a good second quarter with overall improving results and solid year-over-year growth,” said […]