Preliminary flat rolled steel import licenses, for the first fifteen days of July, were down 21.1% compared to the same period in June. Hot-dipped galvanized import licenses are down sharply as well, sliding 19.5% compared to the first two-plus weeks of June.
Domestic raw steel production rebounded sharply last week after the shortened Independence day holiday week. U.S. mills produced an estimated 1,735k tons at a 78.1% utilization rate; this is up from 1,695k tons and a 76.3% rate previously.
After slipping in May, new housing starts rebounded in June and are now up for the second time in the last three months. June new housing starts came in at a 1.353-million-unit rate, up 3.0% from May but were still 4.4% below year-ago levels. This is the second consecutive month in which starts have declined on a year-over-year basis.
After sliding $40/gt in June, prime scrap surprisingly settled sideways for July, remaining at $380/gt. The flat reading suggests that the market may have finally bottomed out and found a floor.
Inventory, on dealers’ lots, at the end of June increased after seeing a slight decline in May. Light vehicle inventory ended June at 2.820 million units, up 3.4% from May and up a sharp 47.8% from the 1.908 million units at the end of June 2023. Inventories of both cars and light trucks increased from the previous month, climbing 0.5% and 4.0%, respectively. Current light truck inventory is at its highest level since March 2020.
Spot iron ore rebounded sharply ahead of the July 4th holiday after slipping four out of the previous five weeks. Spot iron ore pricing settled at $110.32/mt, up from $106.35/mt the week prior. This is the highest price for iron ore since late-May.
U.S. light vehicle sales totaled 1.322 million units, down 7.6% from May and down 3.4% from June 2023. The main reason for the drop in June sales was due to a wide cyberattack that impacted a third party, used by over 15,000 dealers, to process sales. It is being estimated that the cyber issues decreased sales in June by at least 50,000 units. As of this writing the issue appears to be resolved and sales are expected to be made up for in July. Despite the decline in June sales, the year-to-date total (7.824 million units) remains 2.3% above the total from the first half of 2023.
U.S. mills produced an estimated 1,710k tons at a 77.0% utilization rate; this is up from 1,704k tons and a 76.7% rate previously.
The May new home sales came in at a 619,000 unit rate, down 11.3% from April and down 16.5% from the 741,000 unit rate in May 2023. This was the first year-over-year decline since March 2023. The inventory of new homes for sale increased to 480,000, up from 466,000 in April and is at its highest total since January 2008. The current inventory, when combined with May’s sales pace, equates to 8.6 months of supply. The median sales price declined slightly to $417,400, down from $417,9000 in April.
May retail sales totaled $703.1 billion, up 0.1% from April and up 2.3% from the $687.5 billion rate in May 2023.
