Domestic raw steel production increased sharply again last week, now up four out of the last five weeks. U.S. mills produced an estimated 1,725k tons at a 76.8% utilization rate; this is up from 1,706k tons and a 76.0% rate previously.
Increased activity from consumers continued in April, as pre-tariff buying bled over from March. April U.S. light vehicle sales came in at a 17.3 million unit rate, down slightly from March but up considerably from April 2024.
New home sales increased for the second consecutive month in March and was at its highest monthly rate since September. March new home sales came in at a 724,000 unit rate, up 7.4% from February and up 6.0% from the 683,000 unit rate in March 2024.
Shipments of HVAC equipment continued to climb on a month-over-month basis but were down from last year. February HVAC shipments totaled 1.700 million units, up 1.9% from January but were down 1.5% compared to the 1.727 million unit total in February 2024.
