Consumer confidence increased in January as the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Composite Index rose by 2.3 points to 125.4, following a decline in December. On a three month moving average, (3MMA) the composite index measured 125.7, up 0.3 point month on month (m/m). On a year over year comparison, the 3MMA composite index was up [...]
Merchant licenses, (representing 10 HTS codes), through January 24th totaled 42,143 tons, down 34,292 tons or 43.5% from last year’s 74,635 tons. Overall merchant import licensed tons in 2017 were higher year on year. The 2017 total was 965,972 tons 26,559 tons or 8.6% greater than the 921,552 tons in 2016. Figure 1 shows total [...]
Rebar licenses through January 24th totaled 97,878 tons, about one half of the January 2017 level of 200,442 tons. Straight lengths accounts for all but 22 tons of the licensed import thus far this month. Overall rebar import licensed tons in 2017 were lower than in 2016. The 2016 total was 2.142 million, (M), 0.625M [...]
Beam licenses through January 24th totaled 12,128 tons, down 27,902 tons or 69.7% from last January’s total of 40,030 tons. Overall beam import licensed tons in 2017 were lower than in 2016. The 2016 total was 568,065 tons 26,934 tons or 4.7% less than the 541,131 ton level in 2017. For all of 2017, wide [...]
For the 12 months ending December 2017, U.S. mill shipments of long products increased by 5.9% year on year, (y/y). U.S. domestic consumption of long products increased by 1.6% over the same timeframe. Import share of long products averaged 19.8% over the past 12 months, down from 22.6% for the 12 months ending December 2016. [...]
The U.S. Census Bureau reported today that; new orders for durable goods orders increased $7.0 billion or 2.9% to $249.4B in December. New orders have increased in four of the past five months. November durable goods orders were revised upwards to +1.7% month on month. Shipments of manufactured goods advanced by 0.6% in December to [...]
Worldsteel Association (WSA) reports that global crude steel production totaled 138.06 million tonnes (Mt) at a capacity utilization rate, (CUR) of 69.5% in December. Production was up by 1.51 Mt as the CUR was lower by 1.4 percentage points from November. On a year on year, (y/y) comparison, global crude steel production in December increased [...]
The national ABI score for December fell-back from November’s 55.0 to 52.9 in December. This score still reflects an increase in design services provided by U.S. architecture firms. It also marks three consecutive months of readings of growth in design billings. The new projects inquiry index was 61.9, up 0.8 of a point from last [...]
The pace of U.S. economic growth rebounded nicely in December as the CFNAI advanced to +0.25 from a -0.02 score in October. On a three month moving average, (3MMA) basis the CFNAI recorded a +0.42 reading, up a tick point month on month, (m/m). This was the third month in a row of positive readings [...]
The total tonnage for the week ending January 20th was 1,693 million tons, (Mt) at a capacity utilization rate of 72.6%. For the first three weeks of 2018, total tonnage output was 5,049 Mt, at a capacity utilization rate of 72.2%. In 2017, the same three weeks production total was 5,103 Mt at 71.7%, so [...]