Steel Markets
October 23, 2016
Written by Sandy Williams
Ford Motor Co. announced last week it will temporarily idle four plants including the Kansas City assembly plant that produces the F-150 pickup truck.
The temporary shutdowns are a result of a slowdown in the market and will help Ford match production to demand as well as meet end-of-year inventory targets.
Mill lead times for most sheet products this week were basically flat compared to SMU's market check two weeks ago. Those for plate shortened once again.
China recently became the world’s largest exporter of cars. Experience from the steel industry suggests this is not a trend that will reverse, though it might reduce. Changes in auto supply chains and metals demand outside China are likely. China Is Now the World’s Largest Car Exporter China recently became the world’s largest exporter of […]
General Motors (GM) has raised its full-year earnings guidance, but this depends on the outcome of its labor negotiations with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union in the US and Unifor in Canada. “This is the second time we’ve raised guidance this year and it assumes that we successfully negotiate new labor agreements without a work stoppage,” […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) posted lower year-over-year second quarter profits but said demand “remains solid” across the automotive, construction, industrial, and energy sectors. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker also predicted that steel prices might find support thanks to what it described as low customer inventories. “We remain confident that market conditions are in place for […]
US housing starts pulled back in June after a hitting an 11-month high in May. Total privately owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,434,000 units in June, according to the latest estimates from the US Census Bureau. Starts in May were revised slightly downward, from the previous estimate of […]