Domestic suppliers announced increases that will raise current spot market base prices for all carbon hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products by a minimum of $60 per ton. The increases are effective immediately with all new orders. This is the first price increase announcement since the end of August as the domestic producers look to put an end to the year-plus long downward pricing cycle.
Domestic suppliers announced increases that will raise current spot market base prices for all carbon hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products by a minimum of $60 per ton. The increases are effective immediately with all new orders. This is the first price increase announcement since the end of August as the domestic producers look to put an end to the year-plus long downward pricing cycle.
After a flat reading in September, retail sales increased at its highest rate since March. October sales came in at a $694.5 billion rate, up 1.3% from September and up 8.3% from a $641.5 billion rate in October 2021. This is a new all-time high for adjusted monthly retail sales. The largest increases in sales, compared to September, came from gasoline stations, bars and restaurants, building material stores, and online retailers.
It was a tale of two markets for scrap pricing in November. While the Southern market (Alabama, Arkansas, Carolinas, Mississippi) saw busheling pricing hold flat in November, the Northern market (Chicago) saw further price erosion. The November Chicago #1 busheling price settled at $325/gt, down $30/gt (8.5%) from October and is now down for the seventh consecutive month. The current price is at its lowest level in two years.
After sliding for the first time in nearly a year in August, total construction spending increased slightly in September. Total construction spending came in at a $1.811 trillion rate, up 0.2% from August and up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Nonresidential spending increased 0.5% to a $883.9 billion rate, its highest level on record. Despite the higher percentage increase in non-residential spending, the current ratio of overall spending favors residential at a 51.2% to 48.8% clip.
While still being higher than they were at this point last year, home prices, across the U.S., the gains are shrinking at the fastest rate on record. The Case-Schiller 20-City Price Index came in down for the second consecutive month but still up 13.0% from the reading a year ago. The increase in August was down from the annual gain seen in July. The difference in those comparisons is the largest in the history of the index (1987). The cities seeing the largest monthly declines were: San Francisco, Seattle, and San Diego.
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED) rejected a labor contract with the freight railroads on Monday, sending the two sides back to the bargaining table and resetting the countdown to a potential work stoppage. BMWED represents about 26,000 workers who build and maintain the tracks, bridges, buildings and other structures on railroads across the country, according to its website. If a deal cannot be negotiated, BMWED could go on strike after Nov. 14. So far, only four of the 12 unions have ratified the national agreement with the railroads.
Brick-and-mortar store owners are emerging from the pandemic with surprising strength, posting some of their best numbers in years and plotting expansions as more Americans venture out to buy things again. U.S. retail vacancy fell to 6.1% in the second quarter, the lowest level in at least 15 years, and more stores opened than closed in the U.S. last year for the first time since 1995.
After announcing the idling of the #8 furnace at Gary a couple weeks ago, USS confirmed that the #3 furnace at Mon Valley will be idled indefinitely as well. The #3 furnace, which has a daily capacity of 3,100 tons (~1.1 million tons annually), will now be down until "market conditions improve". The two recent outages now equate to roughly 2.2 million tons annually.
The August Architecture Billings Index came in at 53.3, up from 51.0 in July. The ABI has been in expansion for nineteen consecutive months. The new projects inquiry index increased as well, climbing to 57.9 from 56.1 previously. Regionally, three of the four regions showed expansion, with only the Northeast seeing a slight decline.
