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 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.
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. 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.
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.
TheConsumer Price Index was flat month-over-month as inflation slightly cooled for the second straight month. The May Consumer Price Index saw prices for all goods increase 3.3% compared to last year, still much higher than the Fed’s 2% target.
Steady domestic mills shipments combined with the continued surge in imports helped to overcome the increase in exports to push total carbon steel consumption higher in April. Total carbon steel consumption (steel shipments + imports - exports) came in at a per/day rate of 277.4k tons in April, up from 265.8k tons/ day in March.
Total carbon steel imports in April continued to push higher, now up for the second consecutive month. Preliminary April carbon steel imports totaled 2.055 million tons, up 4.1% from March and up 19.3% from 1.722 million tons in April 2023.
New orders for manufactured durable goods increased in April, now up for the third consecutive month. New orders were up 0.7% to a $284.1 billion rate from March; this follows a 0.8% increase in March. Excluding the volatile transportation component, new orders were up 0.4%.
Shipments of HVAC equipment continued to push higher in March on the back of strong seasonal momentum. HVAC equipment shipments totaled 1.952 million units in March, up 13.0% from February but was were down 2.7% from March 2023.
