By CRU Economic Analyst Ippolito Tarabini and Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen World industrial production growth halved in 2019H1 to 1.5 percent from 3 percent in 2018, suffering because of a slowdown in China, the widespread downturn in the automotive sector, and the unpredictable trade negotiations between the U.S. and the rest of the world, particularly […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. did better than anticipated in the third quarter, generating net sales of $2.69 billion. Shipments were higher than expected due to strength in Reliance’s largest segment, nonresidential construction, slipping just 2 percent compared to a typical seasonal decline of 4-6 percent. Demand for carbon structural and tubing products helped boost […]
SSAB Americas saw its third-quarter profits decrease to $54.5 million from $82.2 million in Q3 2018 due to lower plate steel prices. Sales were down 2 percent from the second quarter to $490 million and 6 percent from a year ago. Demand during the quarter was relatively stable with shipments of 521,000 metric tons, up […]
Crude oil prices have returned to the levels prior to the attack on the Saudi Aramco Abqaiq crude oil processing facility on Sept. 14. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., exceeded $60 per barrel for one day on Sept. 16 when it reached $63.10 before falling back to $52.76 on […]
Economic activity expanded at a slight to moderate pace across most of the U.S. in September and early October. Reports from the Federal Reserve Districts in the South and West were generally more upbeat than the Midwest and Great Plains, according to the Fed’s latest Beige Book. Manufacturing activity edged lower as firms cited persistent […]
The U.S and Canada active rig count declined again this past week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The active drill rigs count is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of oil country tubular goods demand. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 5 to 851, with oil […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison The U.S. economy is in the midst of its longest economic expansion on record—124 months and counting. The recent deceleration in U.S. growth momentum and the fading health of the global economy call into question whether the expansion can continue, and for how long. In this article, we discuss […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined last week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 5 to 855, with oil rigs down 3, gas rigs down 2, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, the […]
EVRAZ NA President “Skip” Herald is the newest addition to the American Iron and Steel Institute Board of Directors. “Skip Herald has had an impressive career, and I am excited to welcome him to the AISI Board of Directors,” said AISI Chairman and AK Steel CEO Roger Newport. “Skip’s wealth of experience will be an […]
The following article discussing the global ferrous derivatives markets was written by David Feldstein. As an independent steel market analyst, advisor and trader, we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Note that Steel Market Update does not take any positions on HRC or scrap trading, and any recommendations or comments […]
From June through August, global steel production increased by 3.1 percent, but excluding China, growth declined by 2.1 percent with the result that China’s share reached another all-time high of 55.9 percent. We have a new perspective this month on global capacity. About a year ago, the World Steel Association stopped reporting global capacity utilization […]
Construction spending edged up 0.1 percent in August from July but declined from year-ago levels, with divergent trends in residential and nonresidential categories, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new federal spending data. Association officials said that many contractors in its recent survey report that staffing challenges are causing […]
Worthington Industries reported net sales of $855.9 million, a 13 percent year-over-year decline, and a net loss of $4.8 million for its fiscal 2020 first quarter, driven by lower volume and lower average selling prices in steel processing. Worthington was also hit by a pre-tax impairment and restructuring charge of $43.5 million primarily related to […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 18 to 868, with oil rigs down 14, gas rigs down 5, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. Compared to this time last year, […]
U.S. Steel is feeling the pain of falling steel prices and deteriorating market conditions. The company expects an earnings loss of 35 cents per diluted share for the third quarter of 2019 compared to a profit of 39 cents per share in the second quarter. The company followed Nucor and Steel Dynamics in lowering guidance […]
The weekend drone strikes against Saudi oil production sent WTI futures as much as 15.5 percent higher overnight Sept. 15 to $63.34 per barrel, the biggest intraday percentage gain since June 22, 1998, according to various reports. The market is watching intently to gauge the duration and the impact of the outage on world energy […]
Editor’s note: This story is still developing. Since this reporting, Saudi Arabian officials claim they have already restored 50 percent of their lost production and that they expect oil output to fully recover within weeks. On Tuesday, oil prices corrected back down by about 6 percent on the news that Saudi production would recover more […]
Oil prices spiked by nearly 20 percent Monday on the news that a drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities had knocked out more than 5 percent of the global oil supply. Prices corrected back down by about 6 percent today following reports that Saudi production would recover more quickly than originally anticipated. The Wall […]
So far, China has held its own in the prolonged trade war with the U.S., but August saw an unexpected decline in exports. China’s exports fell 1.0 percent in August after gaining 3.3 percent in July. Imports declined 5.6 percent, resulting in an overall trade surplus of $34.84 billion, said China’s General Administration of Customs. […]
U.S. steel imports are trending well below average in September, based on Commerce Department license data. Extrapolating the current rate of import licenses out through the end of the month shows total imports on track to hit about 1.8 million tons–significantly below the 2.4 million ton average for the past three months and the 2.6 […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Part one of our three-part series: What’s next for U.S. iron ore production? The U.S. is blessed with a wealth of natural resources, including oil, gas, gold, copper, timber and coal. In addition, the country has large iron ore deposits that have supported its steel industry for more than […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 6 to 898, with oil rigs down 4, gas rigs down 2, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, the […]
Construction spending was essentially flat in July, inching up less than 0.1 percent from June, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Spending slid 2.7 percent from a year ago to a total seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.289 trillion. Year-to-date, spending declined by 2.1 percent […]
World steel production is down this year. Between May and July, global steel production declined by 4.1 percent. For the year, steel output is down by 0.9 percent, excluding China which continues to overproduce. Capacity is calculated to be 2.4 billion metric tons and capacity utilization in July was 79.0 percent, according to the latest […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Paul Wiggers de Vries Lessons learned from the mining boom saw zinc miners cut back site costs over 2015, 2016 and 2017 in the face of lower zinc prices. However, in 2018, cost controls were relaxed and cost inflation returned. In 2019, cost inflation will remain, but miners will reduce site […]
Oil production in the U.S. set another all-time record in May (latest data available) and the forecast for the rest of 2019 and 2020 is a continuation of this trend. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., exceeded $60 per barrel for one day on July 10 before falling back to […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 19 to 916, with oil rigs down 16, gas rigs down 3, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, the […]
Canada’s Russel Metals has expanded its presence in the oilfield with the $160 million acquisition of City Pipe & Supply Corp. City Pipe & Supply supplies pipe, valves and fittings to oil and gas companies in the Permian, Eagle Ford, Granite Wash, Barnett and Haynesville basins, which collectively represent approximately 60 percent of the active […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined again this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 8 to 934, with oil rigs down 6, gas rigs down 2, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, […]
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 […]