The Volkswagen AG workers at the Chattanooga automotive assembly plant voted 712 to 626 against unionizing on Friday, Feb. 14. The defeat is a major setback for the UAW which has seen dwindling membership in the last several years. The UAW’s membership has fallen from a peak of 1.5 million in 1979 to just around […]
In the month since this analysis was last published, the US dollar has strengthened against 12 of the 16 nations that we consider to be major players in either the iron ore market or in steel product trade or both. Most notably, the Russian Rouble and the South African Rand have declined by 4.7 percent […]
Manufacturing companies and service centers are beginning to agree on one topic: service center spot prices are faltering and spot price offers are beginning to drop. The percentage of manufacturing companies reporting lower spot prices out of the service centers rose from 4 percent in early January to 20 percent. At the same point in […]
Based strictly on our most recent flat rolled steel survey results, Steel Market Update is seeing modest improvements being reported in demand. As a group, our survey respondents have been becoming more optimistic as those reporting demand as in decline has shrunk from 17 percent in early December to 7 percent this past week. At […]
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 […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) began collecting responses earlier this week from the just shy 600 companies invited to participate in our twice monthly flat rolled steel market analysis. The individuals responding to our questions this week – particularly those related to our SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index – were being influenced by weather related issues […]
Residential building permit authorizations in Canada for December declined for the second month, falling 14.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 186,780 units from 216,608 units in November. According to data released by Statistics Canada, multi-family dwelling authorizations led the decline, dropping 21.3 percent while single family dwellings inched down 0.1 percent. Value […]
I want to take a moment to thank Mark Bush, General Manager Mobile Operations for SSAB Americas as well as Brent Major of SSAB Americas for their hospitality during our tour of the SSAB Mobile steel facilities as part of our most recent Steel 101 workshop. Our group was impressed with the steelmaking as well […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index rose 10 points to 12.5, indicating acceleration in business activity and reaching its highest level since May 2012. Prices paid and prices received rose in double digits in January with prices paid soaring 21 points to 36.6 indicating higher input costs. The six month outlook is optimistic with orders up […]
The introduction of an aluminum F-150 pickup at the Detroit auto show has the steel industry looking hard at its advanced high strength steels (AHSS) and figuring out how to insure that AHSS is the preferred material of choice for the auto industry. SMU spoke with Ronald P. Krupitzer, vice president of automotive applications for […]
On January 14, Steel Market Update (SMU) adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator from Higher to Neutral. This means we see steel market pricing at this moment as either in transition or moving sideways over the next 30 days. With ferrous scrap prices now weakening, lead times shortening and all of the available capacity back in […]
Essentially all of the domestic steel mills have finished maintenance on their blast furnaces. U.S. Steel is bringing back online their Fairfield furnace, Berkeley has completed the expansion of its hot strip mill and other domestic steel mill maintenance projects from 4th Quarter 2013 have been completed. Supply is available and now it is time […]
We are beginning to capture signs of a fracture in the resolve of the service centers to push higher steel prices into their end user accounts. With flat rolled steel spot prices trading within a fairly narrow and stable range for the past 10 weeks according to our SMU price indices, it should not come […]
The Institute for Supply Management Purchasing Manufacturers Index (PMI) registered 51.3 percent in January. Although the index slid 5.2 percentage points from December, it is still an indicator of growth in the manufacturing sector. Most of the indices that make up the PMI fell in January. The new orders index took a significant dive of […]
Construction spending inched up 0.1 percent in December and picked up a modest 4.8 percent for all of 2013. Apartments and single-family homes offset declines in private nonresidential and public projects, according to US Census Bureau data analyzed by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). The AGC reported: “Construction put in place totaled $930 […]
The JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI registered 52.9 in January, almost unchanged from December’s high of 53.0 and signaling the fourteenth straight month of expansion. Production and new orders continued upward which helped increase employment levels. New export business slowed in January. Sharp discrepancies in growth were seen between developed and emerging markets. The UK, Japan […]
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. […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The total number of indicators considered by Steel Market Update at present is thirty six. The present situation of twelve of the indicators based on historical standards was positive on January 28th […]
Late last week Steel Market Update concluded our mid-January market survey of the flat rolled steel market in Canada and the United States. The survey is conducted by invitation only and is sent to slightly less than 600 companies. The breakout of the respondents was: 48 percent manufacturing companies, 42 percent service centers/wholesalers, 5 percent […]
Nucor reported fourth quarter earnings of $170.5 million, compared to 147.6 million in Q3 and $136.9 million in fourth quarter 2012. Full year consolidated net earnings for 2013 were $488.0 million, compared with net earnings of $504.6 million for 2012. Earnings for the year were impacted by charges associated with the dome collapse at Nucor […]
We are beginning to capture signs of a fracture in the resolve of the service centers to push higher steel prices into their end user accounts. With flat rolled steel spot prices trading within a fairly narrow and stable range for the past 10 weeks according to our SMU price indices, it should not come […]
The projected forecast for Mobile, Alabama during the first week of February is for temperatures to be in the low to mid 60’s. A far cry from the temperatures which have been well below freezing in the Upper Midwest and at, or below, in the rest of the states north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Steel […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) released ourr latest Steel Buyers Sentiment Index which measures how buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful in the current business environment. The mid-January Sentiment Index was measured over the period January 20 through February 23, 2014 and is being reported at +44. […]
HSBC Holdings and Markit released the preliminary (flash) Purchasing Managers’ Index this morning. The reading of 49.6 disappointed the financial markets as any reading below 50.0 indicates the Chinese manufacturing economy is contracting. Meanwhile, world benchmark iron ore spot prices have been falling over the past few weeks with The Steel Index (TSI) reporting 62% […]
HSBC Holdings and Markit released the preliminary (flash) Purchasing Managers’ Index this morning. The reading of 49.6 disappointed the financial markets as any reading below 50.0 indicates the Chinese manufacturing economy is contracting. Meanwhile, world benchmark iron ore spot prices have been falling over the past few weeks with The Steel Index (TSI) reporting 62% […]
Light vehicle production in NAFTA in 2013 totaled, 16,141,347 units, the best year since 2002 and an increase of 6.0 percent on 2012 (Source Wards Automotive.). In 3 months through December production was up by 6.9 percent year over year. Light trucks which include crossovers are surging faster than cars, the year over year growth […]
Contractors are expecting a better year in 2014 said the Associated General Contractors of America in their latest report, Optimism Returns: The 2014 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook. In a survey of 800 AGCA members, firms reported stronger optimism for construction demand and employment than they have since the downturn in 2008. More than 40 […]
The Chinese economy grew by 7.7 percent year-over-year (y/y) in the fourth quarter and by 7.7 percent in 2013 as a whole (Figure 1). The GDP growth rate has been in the range 7.4 percent to 7.9 percent for the last seven quarters. The Chinese economy is performing in line with the government’s goals at […]
Industrial production and manufacturing capacity utilization, December 2013. Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. The IP index was reported as 101.76 for December; this was the first month for the index to exceed the pre-recession peak of September 2007. The three month moving average (3MMA) at 101.21 was […]
Many, perhaps most, steel buyers negotiate a new price for flat rolled steel each time they place a purchase order. Other buyers will negotiate a price for all their steel needs over a fixed period (as much as a year) and then, when they require steel, release purchase orders at this fixed price. However, there’s […]