Skip to main content
[stock_market_widget type="card" template="basic" color="#5679FF" assets="^STEEL" api="yf"]

Market Update | April 17, 2024

March retail sales came in at a $709.6 billion rate, up 0.7% from February and up 4.0% from a $682.2 billion rate in March 2023. Excluding sales from gas stations, total sales were up 0.6% from February to a $655.0 billion rate. Year-to-date actual sales are now up 3.3% compared to Q1 2023. The largest increases in March, compared to February, came from building material and garden stores, gas stations, and online retailers. These increases helped to offset declines seen in sales at motor vehicle dealers, electronic and appliance stores, and clothing stores.

Read

Market Update

Market Update | April 10, 2024

Prices paid by consumers continued to climb faster than market expectations. The March Consumer Price Index saw prices for all goods increase 3.48% compared to last year, the fastest increase since September. ​Within the overall CPI, both food and energy prices increased compared to year ago levels, climbing 2.2% and 2.1%, respectively. ​Compared to last March, the shelter component increased 5.7%, accounting for over 60% of the total increase.

Read

Market Update

Market Update | April 3, 2024

After contracting for sixteen consecutive months, economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in March. The March ISM Manufacturing Index came in at 50.3, up from 47.8 in February and up from 46.3 last March. This is the highest monthly reading since September 2022.The production and new order components both rebounded, climbing 6.2 and 2.2 points, respectively. The increase in new orders points to firming demand for manufactured goods and suggests inventories are more aligned with sales.

Read

Market Update

Market Update | March 27, 2024

New orders for manufactured durable goods increased in February after sliding in the previous two months. New orders increased to a $277.9 billion rate, up 1.4% from January and followed a 6.9% decline in January.

Read

Market Update

Market Update | March 20, 2024

February new housing starts came in at a 1.521 million unit rate, up 10.7% from January and up 5.9% from the 1.436 million unit rate in February 2023. This is the fourth consecutive month in which starts increased on a year-over-year basis. While both single-family and multi-family starts increased in February, single-family starts led the push higher.

Read

Market Update

Market Update | March 13, 2024

Price paid by U.S. consumers climbed 0.62% from January and 3.15% from February 2023. This year-over-year increase followed the two-and-half-year low of a 3.09% increase in January. Prices paid for goods, excluding food and energy, increased 0.57% from January and were up 3.75% from February last year. This was the lowest year-over-year increase in prices paid since April 2021.

Read

Market Update

Market Update | March 6, 2024

U.S. light vehicle sales totaled 1.248 million units, up 16.6% from January and up 9.6% from 1.139 million unit rate in February 2023. Sales have now increased, on a year-over-year basis, for nineteen consecutive months. This was the highest February sales total since 2020.

Read

Market Update

Market Update | February 28, 2024

Up for the second consecutive month, January new home sales came in at a 661,000 unit rate, up 1.5% from December and up 1.8% from the 649,000 unit rate in January 2023. New home sales have now increased, on a year-over-year basis, for ten consecutive months. Actual new home sales totaled 57,000 units in January, the highest monthly total since July. The number of new homes for sale at the end of January increased to 456,000 units, up on both a month-over-month and year-over-year basis. The current inventory, when combined with January's sales pace, equates to 8.1 months of supply.

Read

Market Update

Market Update | February 21, 2024

January light vehicle production totaled 856,729 units, up 15.6% from December and up 8.0% from January 2023. This is the third consecutive month in which production increased on a year-over-year basis. Production increased for both cars and light trucks in January, climbing 13.0% and 16.1%, respectively. This was the highest January production rate since right before the pandemic in 2020.

Read

Market Update

Market Update | February 14, 2024

After sliding in the previous three months, shipments of HVAC equipment increased slightly in December, totaling 1.458 million units, up 0.9% from November. Shipments declined on a year-over-year basis however, sliding 11.5% from last December. This was the twenty-first consecutive month with a year-over-year decline.

Read

Market Update