At least one company is seeing better days ahead for the oil and gas industry. OCT Pipe announced it will build a one million square foot pipe mill in Norfolk, Nebraska. CEO Charley Havens, of the Rockwall, Texas based company, said the $125 million facility will break ground soon and be operational by mid-2017. OCT […]
Figure 1 shows historical gas and oil prices since January 2000. The daily spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) closed at $45.91 on October 17th, according to the latest daily figure available from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Brent closed at $47.51 on the same day. WTI was down from $46.67 in 30 days […]
The states compile their employment numbers independently of the Feds then both are reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The results are very close. In the last six quarters since Q1 2014, the Feds reported total job creation of 4,849,000 and the states reported 4,475,000. Figure 1 and Figure 2 show the history of […]
The nation’s highways received some much needed attention last week. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday approved a bipartisan bill to provide up to $325 billion for transportation projects over the next six years. The Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform (STRR) Act of 2015 (H.R.3763) would authorize $261 billion for highways, $55 billion […]
According to Baker Hughes data from October 23, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 787 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is unchanged overall compared to last week, with oil rigs down 1 to 594 rigs, gas rigs up 1 to 193 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at […]
Steel earnings calls began this last week and all of them reference the downturn in the oil industry and its effect on production. Low oil prices, overcapacity, and resulting weak demand for OCTG products continues to force firms to adjust output and workforce. Vallourec Star Steel announced this week that it will begin a third […]
USW workers are contesting claims by Allegheny Technologies that the mills are currently “meeting and in many cases exceeding output, quality, and safety expectations” during the lockout of regular union employees. “ATI is trying to paint a rosy picture,” said USW Vice President Tom Conway, “but all indications suggest a company that is limping along […]
USW workers are contesting claims by Allegheny Technologies that the mills are currently “meeting and in many cases exceeding output, quality, and safety expectations” during the lockout of regular union employees. “ATI is trying to paint a rosy picture,” said USW Vice President Tom Conway, “but all indications suggest a company that is limping along […]
Allegheny Technologies reported a challenging flat rolled market in their third quarter results. Flat rolled sales were $358 million, down from $511 million in Q2 and $561 million in 2014. ATI’s lockout of USW workers resulted in 25 percent lower shipment volume during the quarter. Total ATI sales for the quarter were $833 million resulting […]
Allegheny Technologies reported a challenging flat rolled market in their third quarter results. Flat rolled sales were $358 million, down from $511 million in Q2 and $561 million in 2014. ATI’s lockout of USW workers resulted in 25 percent lower shipment volume during the quarter. Total ATI sales for the quarter were $833 million resulting […]
Cliffs Natural Resources is back pedaling after CEO Lourenco Goncalves said he would shut down a plant in the Iron Range if Essar Steel Minnesota goes into production. “If they go online, I will shut down a plant up there the same day,” Lourenco Goncalves said in an exclusive interview with the Mesabi Daily News […]
Esmark Inc. and Loeffel Steel Group, a steel processing and distribution service center in suburban Chicago, have announced the formation of a new joint venture. The partnership is expected to increase the commercial and operating efficiencies of the two companies and offer a broader portfolio of products and services. The new venture will operate under […]
USW negotiations with ArcelorMittal and US Steel continue to be bogged down. The USW bargaining committee with ArcelorMittal will take a brief break this coming week to conduct discussions with local membership. “We urge ArcelorMittal management to use this time away from the table to consider the uncertainty and strain this unnecessarily long, drawn-out process […]
According to Baker Hughes data from October 16, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 787 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is a decrease of 8 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 10 to 595 rigs, gas rigs up 3 to 192 rigs, and […]
Global steel demand will decrease by -1.7 percent to 1,513 million tonnes in 2015, according to the World Steel Association’s Short Range Outlook for 2015 and 2016. The 2015 decrease follows a gain of 0.7 percent in 2014, the same amount of growth that WSA expects to see again in 2016 as steel demand reaches […]
Below is the latest release issued by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through August 2015. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for August 2015 decreased 0.3 percent […]
According to Baker Hughes data from October 9, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 795 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is a decrease of 14 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 9 to 605 rigs, gas rigs down 6 to 189 rigs, and […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) analysis of non-farm employment reported on Friday that 142,000 jobs were added in September which was well below consensus expectations of about 200,000. In addition July was revised down from 245,000 to 223,000 and August was revised down from 173,000 to 136,000. An upward revision for August had been […]
US Steel announced on Tuesday that it is examining a possible consolidation of its North American flat rolled operations and may idle steelmaking operations and most finishing operations at Granite City. US Steel said it routinely adjusts production to align with market fluctuations. The potential consolidation is a result of challenging global market conditions, including […]
Today, the Department of Commerce announced its final determinations in the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on imports of welded pipe from Korea and Turkey. The DOC determined that imports of welded line pipe from Korea and Turkey have been sold in the United States at dumping margins ranging from 2.53 percent to 6.19 percent […]
According to Baker Hughes data from October 2, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 809 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is a decrease of 29 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 26 to 614 rigs, gas rigs down 2 to 195 rigs, and […]
A check on port conditions in the Gulf region revealed that warehouses are low on steel inventory as customers cautiously anticipate the outcome of antidumping cases. SMU’s source in the Houston area had the following comments: “Our company predominantly handles flat rolled products and we have seen a depletion of inventory as our customers await […]
The September Institute of Supply Management (ISM) PMI registered 50.2 percent, a decrease of 0.9 percentage points from the 51.7 percent reading in August. The PMI is at its lowest point since May 2013 when it registered 50.1 percent. The three month moving average has been see-sawing since June when it gained points after seven […]
The Chicago Business Barometer, or Chicago PMI as it is more commonly known, surprised economists by dropping 5.7 points to 48.7 in September The decline follows two months of expansion and the speed of descent is a cause for concern said MNI Indicators. The production index plummeted by double digits to its lowest level since […]
Flat rolled steel prices have been slipping on a regular basis for a number of months. This has created a market where buyers expect lower prices each time they order steel, even if there is only a week or two between orders. This tends to keep order sizes modest and develops a feeding frenzy between […]
According to Baker Hughes data from September 25, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 838 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This is a decrease of 4 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 4 to 640 rigs, gas rigs down 1 to 197 rigs, and […]
Worthington Industries reported net earnings of $31.4 million for first quarter 2016 ending August 31, 2015. Earnings were down from $44.2 million in Q1 2015 but up from Q4 FY 2015’s $28.9 million. Net sales declined 12 percent to $758.1 million, driven by lower volume in all business segments and lower average steel pricing. Gross […]
Below is the latest release issued by the the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) regarding residential and commercial heating and cooling equipment shipments through July 2015. You may read the press release on their website here. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for July 2015 increased 3.5 percent, […]
The following article was produced for our Premium level members earlier this week. We wanted to share it with our Executive level members as we think it is important and interesting as the world is flooded with excess steel capacity. If you find this article interesting you may be interested in upgrading your membership from […]
As readers are well aware, the Fed announcement on the 17th was a nonevent as far as interest rates are concerned. This morning as we examined the currency values of the sixteen steel trading nations that we track, it was evident that traders anticipated this lack of action around the 10th to the 13th and […]