The global manufacturing sector downturn continued to worsen in August. The J.P.Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI posted a 49.5 for its fourth month of contraction. More than half of the nations surveyed by J.P.Morgan and IHS Markit had PMI readings below the neutral 50 mark last month, with Germany and the Czech Republic declining at the […]
The United Auto Workers has chosen General Motors as the lead company for labor negotiations that will set the pattern for 2019 discussions. Contracts at the Detroit Big 3 will expire at midnight on Sept. 14. “We are focused. We are prepared. And we are all ready to stand up for our members, our communities […]
As I write my “final thoughts” for Tuesday evening’s issue of Steel Market Update, I am in Stuart, Fla., and there is a hurricane located about 80 miles due east in the Bahamas. It is Monday and I expect there will be limited power or mobility come Tuesday, so I am trying to be a […]
Nucor has received more than 2,300 applicants for 250 positions at its $400 million steel plant in Sedalia, Mo. The rebar plant is expected to open in November. Jessica Craig, Sedalia-Pettis County economic development executive director, says 153 employees have already been hired, some coming from as far away as Columbia and Kansas City, more […]
Demand for long products continues to be very strong, driven by the construction industry. Demand for sheet products is declining due to the weakness in manufacturing. This analysis by Steel Market Update is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import-export data from the U.S. Department of […]
I thought I was going to get a respite from the stress of putting on the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference as the conference has concluded and I have returned home. For those of you who do not know, I live in southern Florida on the Atlantic coast side close to West Palm Beach. Mother […]
Steel demand from the agricultural sector is down substantially, according to a panel of steel distributor and processing CEOs at the 2019 SMU Steel Summit. North American farming profits were hit hard in 2019 by weather, high steel prices and retaliatory Section 232 and 301 tariffs, impacting the ability of farmers to invest in equipment. […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to announce the recipient of the first SMU NexGen Leadership Award is Meredith Meade at Tempel Steel Company. Ms. Meade was presented her award by Steel Manufacturers Association CEO Philip Bell. SMA sponsored this year’s award, which attracted 21 highly qualified nominees from 18 companies. The finalists for the award were Ms. […]
Orders for durable goods increased for a second month, gaining 2.1 percent in July, according the latest data from the Commerce Department. Transportation again led the gain with a surge of 47.8 percent for aircraft and parts. Excluding the volatile transportation category, durable goods orders were down 0.4 percent. Core capital goods, non-defense minus aircraft and […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison and Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg In the past month, we have seen sharp declines in global commodity prices, including steelmaking raw materials. The fall was triggered by an escalation of the U.S.-China trade war, but CRU’s research shows that supply and demand fundamentals in the markets also contributed to […]
The U.S. International Trade Commission determined on Tuesday that unfair imports of steel racks from China are causing material injury to domestic producers and should be subject to duties. The final decision follows the Department of Commerce AD/CVD determination that the racks are subsidized and sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. As […]
Material Sciences Corp. was named as one of five winners of the 2019 Altair Enlightment Award given to honor the greatest achievement in vehicle weight savings. MSC was honored for its MSC Smart Steel, a new multilayer steel laminate engineered as a direct substitute for low carbon steel stamped vehicle body parts. Offering a 20 […]
The labor productivity of nonfarm businesses grew by 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2019. The average of the last six quarters has been 0.40 percent. Unit labor costs increased 2.5 percent year over year, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Unit labor costs and productivity […]
The official economic statistics out of China showed a decline in industrial production in July. But in June, China’s share of global steel production was 55.1 percent. Once each quarter we publish the official statistics for Chinese GDP, industrial production, consumer price inflation and fixed asset investment. We don’t know the accuracy of these numbers, […]
Our analysis of 11 manufacturing indicators suggests that growth is slowing and, if trends continue, will become negative in the fourth quarter. This report summarizes 11 data streams that describe the state of U.S. manufacturing in general and the steel industry in particular. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market […]
ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor has the honor of providing the steel for the first U.S.-flagged Great Lakes bulk carrier to be built in more than 35 years. Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding held a ceremony at its shipyard to celebrate cutting the first sheet of steel to be used in the construction of the vessel for Interlake Steamship […]
The following editorial is by Allan Golombek, a Senior Director at the White House Writers Group, and was published on Aug. 12, 2019 by RealClearMarkets. The steel industry should have listened to the founder of Nucor. In 1986, Ken Iverson pointed out that protectionist measures to save the American steel industry had not had the desired […]
Electric arc furnace minimills may have a cost advantage in steel production today, but there are still 19 traditional blast furnaces going strong in the United States. Blast furnaces dominate about three-fourths of global steelmaking, but only three steel producers in the U.S. currently are using BF or basic oxygen furnace technology: U.S. Steel, ArcelorMittal […]
Despite concerns over trade wars and recession, the Empire State Manufacturing Index expanded in August. The index from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed modest improvement in August, beating economists’ expectations. The general business index rose for a second month, increasing to 4.8 from 4.3 in July. “New orders increased after declining for […]
Tariffs on some of the $300 billion in Chinese goods due to take effect on Sept. 1 have been pushed back until Dec. 15, and some items are likely to be removed from the tariff list entirely, as the Trump administration faces opposition from U.S. companies that claim the duties are hurting their businesses, The […]
HarbisonWalker International, a manufacturer of refractory products for the steel industry, announced completion of the first phase of a $9 million investment in its manufacturing plants in North America. Phase one increased warehouse space by 35 percent at the White Cloud, Mich., facility, using American-made steel. Additional manufacturing space will house new production technologies, including […]
Job creation slowed in July but is still healthy and in its 10th year of uninterrupted expansion, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. In July, 16,000 jobs were created in manufacturing industries and 4,000 in construction activities. About 148,000 jobs were created in the private sector, while […]
The rate of job creation in the U.S. in 2019 is slowing, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Net job creation in July declined to 164,000 from a downwardly revised 193,000 in June. June was revised down by 31,000 and May down by 10,000. Rising […]
Nearly 1,000 executives are registered with just two weeks to go before the start of the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We continue to see strong interest in this year’s event, which will be held in Atlanta on Aug. 26-28. Once again, the Georgia International Convention Center will be the home of this, our 9th […]
Steel prices are up, but the same cannot be said for industry optimism. Following a brief uptick shortly after the mill price increases were announced last month, Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index has ticked back down. Steel buyers’ comments suggest that concerns about the economy, steel demand and the staying power of the higher […]
For the past three days, I have been studying the nominations of 21 young individuals who were nominated by their companies for the 2019 SMU NexGen Leadership Award, which this year is being sponsored by the Steel Manufacturers Association. The process has been exhilarating to say the least. I decided many years ago that as […]
Russel Metals, Inc., Canada’s second largest metals distributor, reported revenues of $937 million in the second quarter. Net income totaled $31 million, about half the $66 million the company earned in the same quarter last year (figures are in Canadian dollars). The company’s gross margins in this year’s second quarter averaged 18.8 percent, well below […]
The trade war with China escalated on Monday as China allowed its currency to weaken in retaliation for a new round of tariffs imposed by President Trump. The yuan fell to 7 per U.S. dollar, the lowest it has been in 11 years, making exports from China cheaper and more competitive versus the United States. […]
Distributors of galvanized steel to the HVAC sector are paying higher prices to their suppliers, but having difficulty collecting the increase from their contractor customers, reported members of the Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International during their monthly conference call earlier today. Since HARDI’s last call, domestic flat rolled mills have announced three price […]
Distributors of galvanized steel to the HVAC sector are paying higher prices to their suppliers, but having difficulty collecting the increase from their contractor customers, reported members of the Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International during their monthly conference call earlier today. Since HARDI’s last call, domestic flat rolled mills have announced three price […]