On March 28 & 29, 2018 Steel Market Update will conduct our next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop in Merriville, Indiana. This workshop will include a tour of the NLMK USA Portage, Indiana steel mill. Why do companies send employees to our Steel 101 workshop? Because they receive a broader […]
Demand is good heading into 2018, mill prices are on the upswing and trade cases promise to keep low-priced imports at bay. So why aren’t distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC market happier? Members of the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) reported that market conditions remain highly competitive despite price […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Index showed continued growth in New York State, but at a slower pace in January. The general business index registered 17.7, down from 19.6 in December. New orders declined 7.1 points to 11.9, while shipments eased by 9.1 points to 14.4. The unfilled orders index registered 4.3 indicating a small increase. […]
The Section 232 report on the effect of steel mill product imports on U.S. national security was submitted to President Trump by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross late on Thursday, Jan. 11. The president now has 90 days to take action. Details of the report have not been released. In its announcement, the Commerce Department […]
As we collected hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and plate prices earlier this week, we asked a number of questions trying to get reactions from the steel buyers. We asked how high steel prices could go (using hot rolled as the benchmark) and what were the key drivers affecting prices right now. Here are […]
Last week, Steel Market Update conducted our first flat rolled steel market trends analysis of the New Year. We invited comment from 640 individuals associated with the flat rolled steel industry in manufacturing, steel distribution, steel mills, trading companies and others who service the industry. One of the key areas we research during the survey […]
Steel Market Update will be opening online registration for our 8th SMU Steel Summit Conference in the coming days. We are now accepting registrations by phone, which you can do by contacting our offices at 772-932-7538 or 706-216-2140. Information regarding dates, costs and other details can be found further down in this article. Steel Market […]
Steel Market Update has opened online registration for our 8th SMU Steel Summit Conference. We are also accepting registrations by phone, which you can do by contacting our offices at 772-932-7538 or 706-216-2140. Information regarding dates, costs and other details can be found further down in this article. Steel Market Update and our Events team […]
Nucor will shift production at subsidiary Kirby Building Systems to Portland, Tenn., laying off approximately 100 production workers. The shift in operations reflects production changes in the Nucor Buildings Group, which manufactures custom-engineered and standard metal buildings and components.” “In the coming months, Nucor will be transferring all production of our American Buildings Company (“ABC”) […]
While the December jobs report was a bit disappointing, it still represents the 85th consecutive month of job growth and left the unemployment rate unchanged. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment report for December was released on Friday. The total number of nonfarm jobs created was 148,000. October was revised down by 33,000 and […]
Total construction expenditures have turned around and grew by 3.9 percent in three months through February year over year. The growth of total construction on a rolling 12-month basis year over year has been constant at 2.1 percent for each month December through February. On a rolling three-month year-over-year basis, the situation is much better […]
Steel Market Update anticipates conducting five Steel 101 workshops during calendar year 2018. Our January workshop scheduled for Mobile, Ala., later this month is sold out. Steel Market Update’s next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals Workshop will be held in Merrillville, Ind., on March 28-29, 2018. The two-day session will include […]
We have had companies contact us already regarding when registration will open for the 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We will be working on the Steel Summit section of the website tomorrow (Wednesday) with the hope to open up registration for the Aug. 27-29, 2018, event on Friday of this week. We will also open […]
The U.S. economy overall has grown for 103 consecutive months, and the manufacturing sector for 16 months, based on the Institute for Supply Management’s latest survey of corporate purchasing executives. In December, ISM’s manufacturing PMI climbed 1.5 percentage points to 59.7, well above the reading of 50 that indicates growth. “This indicates growth in manufacturing […]
The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI ended 2017 near a seven-year high as economies improved and new orders and output expanded. The PMI, produced by J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit, rose to 54.5 in December from 54.1 in November, expanding for the 22nd month. Intermediate goods saw the greatest rate of growth in December followed […]
Strengthening its position as a supplier of high-value-added metals to the aerospace sector, Toronto-based Samuel, Son & Co. has acquired Metal Spinners Holdings. Metal Spinners will operate as a separate group within Samuel’s manufacturing division. The group will include Missouri Metals of St. Louis, Mo., and Metal Spinners’ production facilities in Angola, Ind., Rock Falls, […]
Key market indicators bode well for business conditions in the first quarter of 2018. Steel Market Update’s view of the present situation based on our examination of data released in December shows that 47.2 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance is within the historically normal band. […]
It was an unusually busy year for steel trade actions in the United States in 2017. January brought the nominations of Robert Lighthizer as U.S. Trade Representative and Wilbur Ross as Commerce Secretary. During his confirmation hearings, Ross said, “I’m not anti-trade, I’m pro-trade. But I’m pro-sensible trade. Not pro-trade that is to the disadvantage […]
The week prior to the Christmas holiday, Steel Market Update conducted a review of the flat rolled steel market and the trends impacting supply, demand and pricing trends. The steel survey, sent to 640 individuals involved in the flat rolled and plate industries, found service centers as more supportive of higher spot prices than they […]
The American Iron and Steel Institute welcomed Canada’s integrated steel company Stelco to its membership at AISI’s recent board meeting in Washington, D.C. “With its significant presence in North America, Stelco will be a great partner in our continued advocacy to fight unfairly traded foreign imports and level the playing field for the North American […]
Commercial Metals Company (CMC) has agreed to buy Gerdau’s rebar operations in the United States for $600 million. The acquisition includes 33 rebar fabrication facilities, as well as steel mills in Knoxville, Tenn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Sayreville, N.J.; and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., with annual mill rolling capacity of 2.5 million tons. The addition of the Gerdau facilities will bring CMC’s global […]
The Georgia Port Authority is expanding the Port of Savannah to handle increased cargo demand. “A strong Southeast U.S. economy, on-terminal expansion, and investment by private logistics firms throughout the region have resulted in phenomenal growth for Georgia,” said Executive Director Griff Lynch. Total tonnage for fiscal year 2017 grew 23 percent to 33,397,357 tons […]
Business activity in New York State continued to expand in December. The Empire State General Business Conditions Index registered a healthy 18.0, down slightly from 19.4 in November. The new orders index posted 19.5 and shipments rose four points to a reading of 22.4, indicating solid growth. Unfilled orders declined and delivery times lengthened during […]
It’s a real possibility the United States may withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement. Despite pleas from Republican and Democratic senators, agriculture industry leaders, automotive executives, the United Steelworkers, trucking associations and many others, President Trump, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appear undeterred in their march to tear up […]
Steel Market Update’s next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals Workshop will be held in Merrillville, Ind., on March 28-29, 2018. The two-day session will include a tour of the NLMK USA steel mill. • Do you have new employees who would benefit from learning about steel making (EAF and Integrated Process), […]
Our team has been working diligently on our 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We have expanded the space we are using at the Georgia International Convention Center, we have changed the space that will be used for breaks and for our exhibitors, and we have expanded the audio/visual segment of the program as we continue […]
Happy Holidays to everyone. I know I have told you on a number of occasions that I am now no longer at my desk, but rather slowly moving out to sea for an extended period of rest. Well, as much rest as a workaholic can possibly get. The rest of the SMU team is busy […]
You may or may not be aware that we updated our Steel Market Update website over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. We updated software that controls a number of the functions of our website in order to speed up the site and to make sure that it is up-to-date over the next few years of use. […]
Washing machine manufacturers Samsung and LG won a partial victory in the Section 201 safeguard investigation initiated by Whirlpool and GE. Whirlpool is asking for quotas and a 50 percent digressive tariff on imports of all large residential washers (LRWs) in 2018. Beginning in 2019, the rate would be reduced to 49 percent and then […]
Last week, Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted our early December 2018 flat rolled steel market trends survey. Invitations were sent to 640 people representing about 625 companies located in the United States and Canada. We invite manufacturing companies, service centers, steel mills, trading companies and toll processors/suppliers in the industry and ask them questions about […]