U.S. employment contracted in September, and there was more going on than just hurricanes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) net job creation report released on Friday was very disappointing for more reasons than the impact of hurricanes, though they undoubtedly had a big effect. Net job creation in September was negative 33,000 positions. July […]
Responses to several subjects in last week’s Steel Market Update flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire shared a common thread. Comments on demand, pricing, purchases of foreign steel and inventory levels all tended to reflect a bearish attitude among many flat rolled and steel plate service center executives. · On the subject of steel demand, […]
The Steel Manufacturers Association is still confident that the Section 232 investigation on steel imports will bring relief to the U.S. steel industry. SMA President Philip Bell called the investigation a “really complex issue,” during a media call on Monday. Although the administration issued a self-imposed deadline of June 30, which it failed to meet, […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. and wholly-owned subsidiary Diamond Manufacturing Co. announced the acquisition of Ferguson Perforating Co., effective Oct. 2. Los Angeles-based Reliance is the largest service center company in North America. Ferguson specializes in producing highly engineered and complex perforated metal for diverse end markets ranging from aerospace and automotive to industrial machinery, […]
Over the course of the first four days of this past week (the week of Oct. 2, 2017), Steel Market Update conducted our early October flat rolled steel market trends analysis. One of the areas we track is how steel service centers are handling spot prices on flat rolled steel being sold to their customers. […]
Steel buyers and sellers appear evenly split on whether the renegotiation of NAFTA will benefit their companies. Responses to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire, emailed to several hundred steel executives earlier this week, suggests that most companies don’t really know if the new NAFTA being pursued by the Trump administration will be good for […]
NAFTA negotiations are about to get even more contentious with a proposal by the Trump administration to increase U.S. domestic content in autos to 50 percent. The administration also proposes increasing the NAFTA regional content requirement to 85 percent from the current 62.5 percent, said sources to Inside U.S. Trade. The administration is facing tough […]
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 futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
Steel mills are even more open to price discussions than they were a couple weeks ago, which may be a reflection of weakening prices, say steel buyers who replied to Steel Market Update’s latest flat rolled market trends questionnaire. More than 100 executives responded to this week’s questionnaire. Steel buyers’ perceptions of their suppliers’ attitudes […]
Total construction expenditures contracted in the three months through August year over year for the first time since November 2011, according to August data for construction put in place (CPIP) released by the Department of Commerce on Monday. Privately funded projects still have positive growth on a rolling 12-month basis, but are more than negated […]
Manufacturing expanded in the United States, along with the overall economy, as the Institute for Supply Management’s September PMI jumped 2 percentage points to register 60.8 percent. ISM’s New Orders Index gained 4.3 points. New orders have averaged 61.6 percent since December 2016, said Timothy R. Fiore, chairman of ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. Any […]
Global manufacturing stayed steady at a strong reading of 53.2 in September. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI was unchanged from the August reading with consumer, intermediate and investment goods all signaling expansion. Production rose, driven by new orders and international trade volumes and bumping up employment for the month. Higher input costs pushed selling […]
The Associated General Contractors of America urged Congress and the Trump administration to include new spending as part of the tax reform proposal to reverse declining infrastructure investment. New investments will offset declining public sector demand and help boost overall economic activity, said AGC. “It is hard for American employers to be globally competitive when […]
The next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making and Market Fundamentals workshop will be held Jan. 24-25, 2018, in Mobile, Ala. The two-day workshop will include a tour of the SSAB minimill. The conference will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn Mobile West. Our Steel 101 workshop has been well-received by the industry. Those […]
I am in Fort Wayne, Ind., along with members of my Steel 101 team, John Eckstein, Mario Briccetti, Steve Murphy, Steve Painter, Sandy Williams, as well as Tim Triplett who will be attending his first Steel 101 workshop. Over the next two days, we will be working with a large class of attendees and discussing […]
In its comments on President Trump’s “Buy America” executive order, California Steel Industries (CSI) makes a convincing case for steel companies that process slabs not “melted and poured” in the United States. In April, President Trump instructed all federal agencies to assess their compliance with Buy America/Buy American policies (which have an important distinction, as […]
Steel market indicators look good in the September data. Our view of the present situation is that 50 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance of them are within the band of historically normal. This was the same result as May and August. Along with September, these […]
Economic indicators of manufacturing activity are still healthy overall and portend well for the balance of this year. This report summarizes seven data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the U.S. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications, therefore will be brief in this summary. We […]
A sharp rise in the September Chicago Business Barometer indicates a strong fourth quarter for manufacturing. The Barometer rose to 65.2 from 58.9 in August for its second highest level in more than three years. The average reading for the third quarter was a solid 61.0, steady with the second quarter’s three-year high of 61.1. […]
Despite a run of disruptions during its first quarter, Worthington CEO and Chairman John McConnell is optimistic about the new fiscal year. “We believe that most of the markets we serve are healthy with some showing more strength than others,” said McConnell. “We are off to a good start in fiscal 2018.” Worthington Industries’ earnings […]
Durable goods orders rose more than expected in August, picking up a gain of 1.7 percent versus a forecast for 1.0 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. The increase was welcomed after a 5.8 percent decline in July. A 45 percent jump in the volatile category of nondefense aircraft orders led the increase. Core […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco Holdings will go public with the sale of at least $150 million in shares. The company filed for an initial public offering on Wednesday with security regulators in Canada. Stelco, the former U.S. Steel Canada, was acquired out of bankruptcy by Bedrock Industries in June. The restructuring relieved Stelco of $3 […]
Autumn is expected to bring stronger economic activity and more work for metalforming companies, according to the latest survey by the Precision Metalforming Association. “Metalforming companies are greeting fall with increased optimism,” said PMA President Roy Hardy. “Predictions from our industry reflect the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report which showed growth through some 36,000 […]
When asked to comment on spot flat rolled steel prices this week, the president of a medium-sized service center told SMU, “Drifting. Demand seems down.” He went on to report that even with AK Steel and ArcelorMittal reporting extending lead times, the market “feels soft.” Other steel buyers reported that their perception of the market […]
U.S. content in NAFTA automobiles is shrinking and contributing to the trade deficit America has with Canada and Mexico, according to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. In an editorial for the Washington Post, Ross cites a new study analyzing data from 1995 to 2011 that indicates U.S.-produced content in manufactured goods imported from Canada fell […]
Last Friday, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that the domestic solar industry has been seriously injured by imports of cheap, foreign-made solar cells. The case was brought by solar panel makers Suniva and SolarWorld under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. The ITC now has until Nov. 13 to make recommendations to […]
On Friday, Steel Market Update (SMU) adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to Lower from Neutral. It is our opinion that flat rolled steel prices will move lower over the next 30 days for the following 10 reasons: First, when the head of commercial of a domestic steel mill tells SMU that “transaction pricing cannot go […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) asked those responding to last week’s flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire where they see flat rolled steel prices headed? The results are shown in the graphic below. However, what is also of interest were the comments left behind by respondents. First, the results: The majority (52 percent) believe there is […]
Flat rolled steel lead times have been relatively flat going back to early May 2017, according to the service centers and manufacturing companies who participated in the Steel Market Update (SMU) flat rolled market trends survey this week. Lead time, which is the amount of time it takes for the domestic steel mills to produce […]
Mills are even more open to price discussions than they were a couple weeks ago, report steel buyers and sellers who replied to Steel Market Update’s latest flat rolled market trends questionnaire. More than 100 executives responded to this week’s questionnaire. Steel buyers’ perceptions of their suppliers’ attitudes offer a snapshot of how steel mills […]