New U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross met with Department of Commerce employees on Wednesday. Ross began his speech by praising President Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday night. “I thought it was one of the most inspiring speeches I’ve ever heard, and I think it augers well for the new administration. President Trump […]
Big River Steel, the newest and most technologically advanced scrap recycling and steel production facility in the world, is officially open for business. According to David Stickler, Chief Executive Officer of Big River Steel, the first line went operational nineteen months after groundbreaking: “A world record time to start up a mill. We’ve invested […]
The February ISM Report on Business indicates manufacturing activity expanded in February with the overall economy in a 93rd month of consecutive growth. The PMI was 57.7 percent, up from 56 percent in January. Looking at it from a 3 month moving average, February showed growth at 56.1, up from 54.7. Production at 62.9 gained […]
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. During February our view […]
Members of the Precision Metalforming Association are expecting continued strong business conditions during the next three months. The monthly survey of 115 metalforming companies in the U.S. and Canada indicates economic activity will be steady with a slight increase in incoming orders. Average daily shipping levels were improved in February with 38 percent of participants […]
I did a whirlwind trip to Philadelphia along with John Eckstein, one of our Steel 101 instructors, for a speaking engagement with a manufacturing company in the area. We provided a hybrid Steel 101/Steel Market Update presentation to a small group of executives. More and more this is something I am being asked to do […]
Durable goods orders grew 1.8 percent in January, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The increase was due mostly to a jump in orders for commercial and military aircraft, up 70 percent and 60 percent, respectively. Core capital goods (non-military goods excluding aircraft) fell 0.4 percent after a larger than expected gain of […]
President Donald Trump says the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines must be built from American manufactured steel. After playing with semantics for weeks, the President has now issued a mandate that will require the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines to use steel pipe manufactured in the U.S., according to a report by CNBC on […]
This report summarized seven data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the US. We have reported on most of these 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 same direction but our intention in summarizing them […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals 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 […]
Market segments tend to run in cycles and rarely are all segments clicking at the same time. A good example is during the Great Recession, which crushed most steel consuming market segments, we learned through Priefert Manufacturing that farm, ranch and rodeo equipment were quite strong. As the economy improved cycles shifted and over the […]
Tenth District manufacturing expanded in February achieving its highest index reading since June 2011, said the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The month over month composite manufacturing index was at 14 in February after registering 9 in January and December. New orders, order backlog and employment indexes were higher in February, while production and […]
Ternium announced today the purchase of 100 percent of Thyssenkrupp AG’s Brazilian steel mill CSA, Cia Siderúrgica do Atlantico SA. The sale is based on a September 30, 2016 valuation of EUR 1.5 billion (US$1.86 billion) that is subject to agreed adjustments at closing. Ternium expects to disburse EUR 1.26 billion ($1.33 billion) for the […]
North Star Bluescope Steel reported underlying EBITDA in the first half of FY 2017 of $180.2 million, an increase of 178 percent from 1H FY 2016 . Sales revenue was US$ 598.7 million. The mill operated at 100 percent capacity in the first half and benefited from lower conversion costs, particularly in utilities. Shipments for […]
Galvanized steel buyers need to remain aware of the movement in zinc pricing. With the strike at the zinc-processing facility in Canada there is a possibility that zinc supplies could tighten here in the United States. Zinc prices have been trading on the LME in the $1.30-$1.35 per pound over the past week. At the […]
The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) called on the Trump administration to create a strategy that will evaluate trade violations impacting the entire industrial metals supply chain. MSCI president and CEO Robert Weidner said trade enforcement measures must protect not only the mills but also distributors, fabricators and processors in the supply chain. MSCI has […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) watches the flat rolled steel service centers very closely for signs of strength or weakness. These signs come in the form of discounting spot prices to their customers (or to each other). As markets weaken and the steel mills become more aggressive in their negotiations with the distributors, the service centers […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to fly high and are optimistic about their company’s ability to be successful both in the existing market environment (Current Sentiment) as well as looking out three to six months into the future (Future Sentiment). Both Current Sentiment and Future Sentiment set record highs based on the […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals 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 […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported sales of $2.06 billion in fourth quarter, up 1.7 percent from fourth quarter 2015 and down 5.7 percent from Q3 2016. Tons sold at 1,365,000 were down 1.1 percent from Q4 2015 and down 5.6 percent from third quarter. Average selling price per ton sold was $1,500, essentially the same […]
Manufacturers in New York State are experiencing steady growth, according to the February 2017 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline index for general business conditions rose 12 points to its highest level in more than two years at a reading of 18.7. Indexes for new orders and shipments saw robust gains in February, rising to […]
News for those attending this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference, we will have free Wi-Fi for everyone attending. This will allow attendees to interact easier with other attendees and with our polling and other features on the SMU App. The SMU App will also have some new features this year and we will write about […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the January employment data on Friday and introduced five years of revisions. In January the preliminary result for net job creation was 227,000. November was revised down by 40,000 and December revised up by 1,000. Using a three month moving average (3MMA), the result for January was 183,000 up […]
The following article is the opinion of John Packard, Publisher, Steel Market Update. I haven’t gone back and reviewed the records as to how many times flat rolled steel prices moved higher after a quick run up followed by a stable to slightly down market for a couple of weeks. Probably less than the fingers […]
The Associated General Contractors of America caution that rising construction costs, coupled with restrictions on imported construction materials, may drive up prices for infrastructure and residential and nonresidential buildings. A long-term infrastructure funding mechanism will provide more benefit than Buy America policies, says the Association. A press release from AGC follows. Construction Officials Caution That […]
We have a number of articles in tonight’s newsletter about China and Chinese steel and iron ore prices. Why do we pay so much attention to one country? China controls 50 percent of the world’s steel production. The country has somewhere around 300 million metric tons (330 million net tons) of excess capacity. They have […]
My apologies as I have been consumed lately with making sure we have a program staffed with the absolute best speakers at this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. This will be the first year we will have a manufacturer’s panel. The idea is to have three CEO’s talk about how they see business, trade and […]
“Sanity is back in the seabourne iron ore market,” said Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Lourenco Goncalves in comments during the Cliffs earnings call on Thursday. After the departure of three key executives in the Australian ore market, iron ore prices doubled and Rio Tinto, Vale and BHP are exhibiting disciplined behavior which will support strong […]
The Nucor Louisiana DRI plant is down for 4-5 weeks according to information just received by SMU from Nucor spokesperson Katherine Miller. Here is what she told us: “We recently had an equipment failure that has temporarily stopped production at our Louisiana DRI plant. Due to the nature of the DRI process and the cooling […]
The following article is the opinion of Steel Market Update (SMU) founder and publisher, John Packard. There is a new kid in town, his/her name is Big River Steel. No other steel mills like BRS because they are taking market share and, well, everyone wants to keep all of their toys. Big River Steel Arkansas […]