Economic activity contracted “sharply and abruptly” last month, according to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report. The report, covering activity through April 6, showed leisure and hospitality industries bearing the brunt of the decline. “All Districts reported highly uncertain outlooks among business contacts, with most expecting conditions to worsen in the next several months,” said […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Zinc Monitor As the Chinese market gradually emerges from its Covid-19 lockdown and businesses and individuals start to return to normal, acute outbreaks of the virus across the world mean that many countries are still operating under severe restrictions. Even as China attempts to reinvigorate domestic demand, […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey plunged to its lowest level ever, falling 57 points to a reading of -78.2, in April. “By way of comparison, the lowest level this indicator had reached prior to April was -34.3 during the Great Recession,” said the New York Federal Reserve. New York City has been the epicenter for […]
On Wednesday, April 15 Steel Market Update hosted our weekly SMU Community Chat Webinar with Phil Raimondo of Behlen Manufacturing and John Packard, President & CEO of Steel Market Update. We had a minor technical glitch which got us out of the gates around 11:10 (our mistake as we learn how to use the Zoom […]
Liberty Steel Group has shifted its executive leadership in order to better manage the impact of COVID-19. The group’s board of directors, based in London, will be chaired by Sanjeev Gupta who also serves as CEO. International operations in the U.S. and Australia will be overseen by Regional President Dak Patel who will continue in […]
On Wednesday, April 22, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, Steel Market Update will host our next SMU Community Chat Webinar. We will feature Bernard Swiecki of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). This webinar is open to anyone in the steel community and is complimentary. We will discuss the automotive industry in North America and […]
The coronavirus is already changing my daily habits. I walk around with a small bottle of Purell (or similar) hand sanitizer in my pocket. I have a face mask in my car and I am no longer self-conscious about wearing it into a grocery store. Probably because everyone else is wearing a mask as well. […]
This week’s FREE SMU Community Chat will feature Philip Raimondo, President & CEO of Behlen Manufacturing in Columbus, Neb. He has held a variety of positions in his 28 years with the company, including COO, President of Behlen Engineered Plastics, President of International and Diversified Products, Director of Quality and Human Resources, Manufacturing Manager and […]
Cleveland-Cliffs will temporarily idle Northshore Mining in Minnesota and Tilden Mine in Michigan due to current market conditions. The iron ore supplier plans to work down current inventory from the operations to fulfill its commercial agreements with steel customers. Demand is down at U.S. steel mills, with several adjusting production due to closures in the […]
This week’s SMU Community Chat will feature Philip Raimondo, President & CEO of Behlen Manufacturing in Columbus, Neb. He has held a variety of positions in his 28 years with the company, including COO, President of Behlen Engineered Plastics, President of International and Diversified Products, Director of Quality and Human Resources, Manufacturing Manager and Regional […]
2020 is NOT 2008 all over again… I vividly remember 2008 and what happened to the steel industry beginning in September of that year. Why? Because Steel Market Update began as a company in August 2008 and I was scrambling to get members, while at the same time reporting on the destruction of demand and […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) will be updated following the conclusion of trade in the U.S. However, we expect the indicator to move substantially lower following price decreases across every market we track. Metallics prices in nearly every market came under substantial pressure in […]
With much of U.S. manufacturing on hold to control the spread of the coronavirus, it’s no surprise that steel production and demand for scrap are substantially lower than last month. Ferrous scrap prices are generally trading down $50 per ton for obsolete grades and $30 per ton for prime grades in April, reported Steel Market […]
SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a Director at Cargill Risk Management, and […]
It’s hard to see the forest through the trees…. SMU hosted our first SMU Community Chat Webinar yesterday (Wednesday). There were a couple of glitches – all my fault. I turned off the video recording and was not able to get it back, so no recording of yesterday’s webinar. Josh Spoores (guest speaker from CRU) […]
Executives from service centers and manufacturing companies report widespread order cancellations as customers scale back or shut down to stem the spread of COVID-19. Companies anticipate their sales will be off anywhere from 25-80 percent in April, compared with the same month last year. When will business start to return to normal? The most hopeful […]
Cleveland-Cliffs will idle AK Coal due to reduced demand for coal in internal operations resulting from manufacturing shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said in a statement: “Cleveland-Cliffs continues to evaluate internal operational requirements for metallurgical coal required for steelmaking. Significant reductions in manufacturing in the United States resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, […]
By CRU Senior Cost Analyst Ross Cunningham, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Covid-19 has spread across the world at alarming rates. As of March 28, the pandemic has reached 177 countries and shows little sign of letting up. When fighting a global health and economic crisis unlike anything ever seen before, there will be no winners—only […]
Steel Market Update’s monthly analysis of Key Market Indicators has done a good job of anticipating the ups and downs of the steel market in the past, but the economic data currently available seriously lags the impact of the coronavirus on the economy. Only 3 of 36 indicators in this month’s report have even begun […]
The employment situation in the U.S. is a disaster. The current economic situation is so extraordinarily dire that historical data and trend analysis is almost irrelevant except to illustrate the severity of the situation we are all experiencing. Net job creation in March was negative 701,000 and January was revised down by 59,000, according to […]
We’re all saturated with news of the employment disaster caused by the coronavirus, but to look at the long-term picture graphically is still shocking. Figure 1 shows the three-month moving average (3MMA) of the number of jobs created or lost through April since 2005 as the brown bars and the total number employed as the […]
The U.S. lost a net 701,000 jobs in March as the economy struggled with the coronavirus, and the labor situation is expected to be much worse in April. The brunt of March’s employment decline was felt by service industries. In the coming months, manufacturing and construction jobs will suffer more as well. Table 1 breaks […]
More than 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs in April, including 18.1 million in service industries and 2.4 million in goods-producing industries such as manufacturing and construction, according to data just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The latest job losses came on top of 870,000 lost in March, following a gain of 230,000 […]
CRU is forecasting that North American steel sheet prices will find a bottom sometime this summer, but will remain volatile while supply and demand gradually rebalance as the coronavirus crisis subsides. CRU projects steel consumption will decline by 22 percent this year as a result of virus-related shutdowns in automotive and other key manufacturing industries. […]
Schnitzer Steel Industries, a metals recycler and long products producer, posted revenue of $439 million for the second quarter of FY 2020. Net income was $4.5 million for the quarter, improving from a $7 million loss in Q1 but down significantly from income of $13 million in Q2 2019. Autos and Metals Recycling achieved operating […]
So, this is where we will put responses to questions, human interest items and various other “bits and pieces” that we feel will be of value to our readers. The constant news reports on the coronavirus with their rolling tallies of the number of Americans infected, and the number who have perished, are profoundly troubling. […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from the CRU Steel Monitor As expected, sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market have fallen. Prices today, reflective of transactions booked last week, fell by $13-26 /s.ton w/w. For all sheet prices, we continue to hear of lower priced offers and expect that transaction prices will continue to […]
Global manufacturing continued its downturn in March exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The J.P. Morgan Manufacturing PMI rose to 47.6 from 47.1 in February due to a stabilization of business conditions in China. China’s PMI jumped from 40.3 in February to 50.1 in March as manufacturing activity returned to more normal conditions after new coronavirus […]
A sharp decline in new orders and production drove the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing PMI into contraction in March, falling to 49.1 from February’s reading of 50.1 percent. “The coronavirus pandemic and shocks in global energy markets have impacted all manufacturing sectors,” said Timothy Fiore, chairman of the Institute for Supply Management. New orders […]
Infrastructure is finally getting some attention again, despite and because of the cornavirus. Congress and the White House are calling for an infrastructure bill to be included in the fourth COVID-19 relief package. “With interest rates for the United States being at ZERO, this is the time to do our decades long awaited Infrastructure Bill,” Trump […]