Economy
June 18, 2019
Manufacturing Update: Growth Could Soon Turn Negative
Written by Peter Wright
Most indicators of manufacturing activity are still positive, but if trends continue growth could become negative by late summer, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis.
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 Update publications, and therefore will be brief in this summary. We don’t expect these data sources to all point in the same direction. Our intent in summarizing them in one document is to provide a consensus of the state of this critical steel-consuming sector. In fact, in the latest data, the growth rate of 10 of the 11 data streams is pointing in the same direction and that is down.
