Losses in construction employment continue to worry the industry, said the Associated General Contractors of America in their January analysis of government data. January’s unemployment rate was 9.4 percent, compared to 5.4 percent in January 2020, with 3,000 jobs lost last month. AGC estimated 938,000 former construction workers were unemployed in January, compared to 515,000 […]
Adoption of electrical vehicles is beginning to accelerate as consumer fears of “range anxiety” are quelled by longer range batteries and more charging stations that are appearing in the public domain. It’s a bit of a “field of dreams” scenario for the EV market—if you build it (the infrastructure), they (drivers) will come. A webinar […]
The Dodge Momentum Index, a measure of the first report for nonresidential construction projects in planning, gained 3.1% in January to register 139.4 The commercial component of the index jumped 9.9% offsetting an 11.7% decrease in the institutional component. “January’s increase marked the highest level in the Momentum Index since the COVID-19 pandemic began,” said […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. has been recognized by Fortune as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies in 2021, as well as ranking as the No. 1 best-regarded company in the metals industry. “We are honored by this recognition,” said Mark D. Millett, SDI president and chief executive officer. “Our recognition is testimony to the extraordinary passion […]
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has written letters to the CEOs of Cleveland-Cliffs and U.S. Steel asking for their cooperation in ensuring the future of iron ore taconite operations—Minntac and Hibbing Taconite. The facilities are critical to the Iron Range economy and employ over 1,700 workers combined. In his letters Monday to Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves […]
The U.S. is experiencing a housing construction boom, but nonresidential construction projects are dwindling as pre-pandemic starts are completed and new projects are put on hold, said the Associated General Contractors of America. As a result, more than half of metro areas reported a decline in construction employment from December 2019 to December 2020. “A […]
Dr. Walter Kemmsies, managing partner at the Kemmsies Group, is bullish on the steel market for 2021. In comments during Tuesday’s virtual Tampa Steel Conference 2021, Kemmsies estimated a minimum metals demand of 218 million tons from 2021 to 2025, most of which will be steel. That is an additional 20 million tons in each of […]
Supply chain disruptions and material shortages slowed global manufacturing expansion in January. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.5 last month from 43.8 in December and to a three-month low. Overall, however, the manufacturing sector remained robust with most nations reporting expansion in the sector. Production and new orders rose in January, but new […]
The manufacturing sector continued to expand in January posting a PMI of 58.7 in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The PMI slipped slightly from December’s reading of 60.5, but indicated an eighth month of expansion for the overall economy, said the Institute for Supply Management. “The manufacturing economy continued its recovery in January. […]
Swedish steelmaker SSAB navigated a difficult year in 2020, taking down production and idling blast furnaces due to lower demand and COVID-19 restrictions. “Looking back at it, I think our flexibility in the system has served us well because when the market started to recover in Q4, we were quite fast to adapt to that […]
“What a difference a quarter can make,” exclaimed U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt during the opening of the fourth-quarter 2020 earnings call. The company posted positive net earnings of $49 million following a net loss of $234 million in the third quarter and a net loss of $688 million in Q4 2019. Net […]
Business activity accelerated in the Chicago area in January, says the latest analysis by MNI Indicators and the Institute for Supply Management. The Chicago Business Barometer jumped 5.1 points to 63.8, its highest level since July 2018. Production soared 9.9 points along with a 7.9-point surge in new orders. Order backlogs expanded for a third […]
Nucor, the industry’s largest steelmaker, is expecting a significant increase in earnings in the first quarter of 2021 following a strong fourth quarter with net earnings of $398.8 million. Fourth-quarter earnings outpaced the third quarter at $193.4 million and Q4 2019 at $107.8 million due primarily to higher pricing at Nucor’s sheet and plate mills. […]
Allegheny Technologies Inc. posted a net loss of $1.22 billion due to more than a billion dollars of restructuring and other charges related to the exit from its stainless sheet products business. Excluding restructuring and additional charges, adjusted net loss was $41.9 million. “In the fourth quarter, we took decisive action to accelerate our future […]
Cleveland-Cliffs has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2030. In a detailed plan, Cliffs plans to lower combined direct and indirect gas emissions on a mass metric tons per year basis compared with 2017 baseline levels. The company has already made progress toward emission reductions, achieving six years early its 2025 target […]
Sales of new single-family homes jumped 1.6 percent from November to December, according to the latest Commerce data. Sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 842,000, 15.2 percent above the December 2019 estimate. Median sales price was $355,900 and average sales price was $394,900. The seasonally adjusted inventory at the end of December […]
Canadian steelmaker Stelco has successfully commissioned its new pig iron caster at Lake Erie Works. The new caster has the capability to produce one million tons of pig iron per year and will offer an alternative to scrap for EAFs and Stelco’s own recently upgraded blast furnace. Pig iron is expected to be an attractive […]
Orders for durable goods rose for an eighth month in December, gaining 0.2 percent after an upward revision to 1.2 percent in November. Growth was below economists’ projections of 0.8 percent and the smallest increase since August. The pullback in momentum was primarily due to a sharp drop in aircraft orders. Excluding the volatile category […]
Construction employment remains below pre-pandemic levels in 34 states despite gains in 37 states and the District of Columbia in December, according to an analysis of federal data by the Associated General Contractors of America. The data reflects the broad impact of the pandemic and the need for additional coronavirus recovery measures, said AGC. “While […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. turned in a remarkable fourth quarter and 2020 results despite a year fraught with challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. SDI posted its second highest record for yearly steel shipments at 10.7 million tons. The company’s fabrication platform shipped a record 666,000 tons. Metals recycling posted operating income of $45 million in 2020 […]
Home prices soared in November, gaining 7.6 percent from October and 9.5 percent year-over-year, reports the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. Home Price Index. The 20-City Composite rose 8 percent from the previous month and 9.1 percent from November 2019. Phoenix, Seattle and San Diego led the increase with gains of 13.8 percent, 12.7 percent and […]
The newest powerhouse in the U.S. steel industry, Cleveland-Cliffs, expects a stellar fourth quarter due to the 2020 acquisitions of AK Steel and ArcelorMittal USA. Preliminary results for the company (including the period Dec. 9 through Dec. 31 for ArcelorMittal) show steel sales of 1.9 million tons and consolidated revenue of $2.2 billion to $2.3 […]
Triple-S Steel Holdings, a Houston-based service center, has acquired Alamo Iron Works from Sonepar USA. Alamo is a historical fixture in the San Antonio region, founded in 1875 as a blacksmith shop following the Civil War. The company is thought to be the oldest continuously operating steel service center in Texas. The acquisition was completed […]
NLMK USA turned in a dismal quarter after cutting production in response to a months-long strike at the Pennsylvania mill and a dearth of duty-free slabs from the import market. Year-over-year, quarterly sales plummeted 22 percent to 370,000 metric tons and total sales for 2020 plunged 27 percent to 1.6 million MT, the company reported. […]
JSW Steel operations in the U.S. contributed little to company earnings results in the third quarter of FY 2021. JSW Steel Ohio sold 10,892 metric tons during the quarter. Revenue from operations was $5.48 million resulting in an operating EBITDA loss of $21.26 million. The mill was idled early in the second quarter and did […]
The Architecture Billings Index took another plunge in December, falling to 42.6 from 46.3. A score below 50 shows a decline in demand for design planning and is a leading economic indicator for nonresidential construction activity. “Since the national economic recovery appears to have stalled, architecture firms are entering 2021 facing a continued sluggish design […]
The housing construction market continued its strength in December with starts vaulting 5.8 percent from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,669,000. Single-family housing starts soared 12 percent, but starts of multifamily housing of five units or more plummeted 15.2 percent. Building permits, an indicator of future construction, rose 4.5 percent last month […]
Manufacturing firms in 2021 will see a continuation of the growth trend that began last June, says a new forecast by the Institute for Supply Management. The December 2020 Semiannual Economic Forecast offers an optimistic outlook for revenues, operating capacity, capital expenditures and employment levels in 2021. “Manufacturing’s purchasing and supply executives expect to see strong […]
Demand for flatbed trucks was fueled by residential construction in 2020, with nonresidential construction slipping from pre-pandemic rates. The Associated General Contractors trade group expects 2021 to be a difficult year for the construction industry with only three nonresidential market segments, water and sewer, warehouse and healthcare facilities, expanding. The latest report from the U.S. […]
Tonnage on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system dropped just 1.7 percent during one of the most challenging years in recent history. Shipments on the water system, including commodities such as grain, iron ore and coal, totaled 37.7 million metric tons in 2020. “The Seaway’s 62nd navigation season was one of the most remarkable in […]