A View from the Top
Summit Steel President Ross Bushman offers a weekly summary of data and observations regarding the metals industry news, market conditions and their global and domestic impact.
Feel free to contact Ross with your thoughts or comments.
July 2021
Year-Over-Year Real GDP Growth Forecast
Year-Over-Year Real GDP Growth Forecast Year-over-year real GDP growth forecast by the Conference Board is 6.6 percent for 2021 and a healthy 3.8 percent for 2022. The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the US increased by 0.7 percent [...]
New York Business Activity Grew at a Record-Setting Pace
New York Business Activity Grew at a Record-Setting Pace New York business activity grew at a record-setting pace in July. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Empire State Manufacturing Survey for July 2021 reports the state's outstanding growth, according to [...]
US Drill Rigs Running Up 212 From One Year Ago
US Drill Rigs Running Up 212 From a Year Ago US drill rigs running up 212 from one year ago. There were 475 drill rigs running in the US last week, up 5 rigs from the previous week. Canadian drillers added [...]
US Economy Added 850000 Jobs June 2021
US Economy Added 850000 Jobs June 2021 The US economy added 850,000 jobs in June and the jobless rate was 5.9 percent. Overall Economy Grew for 13th Consecutive Month The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released its June 2021 Manufacturing ISM [...]
June 2021
US Drill Rigs Running Up 204 Rigs from One Year Ago
US Drill Rigs Running Up 204 Rigs from One Year Ago Up 204 rigs from one year ago, there were 470 drill rigs running in the US last week, up 9 rigs from the previous week. Meanwhile, Canadian drillers added 24 [...]
Manufacturing Business Outlook Indicators Remain Elevated
Manufacturing Business Outlook Indicators Remain Elevated Manufacturing business outlook indicators remain elevated, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey for June 2021. It reports manufacturing activity continued to grow, according to firms responding to the survey. [...]
A Large Punishment for Manufacturers
A Large Punishment for Manufacturers A large punishment for manufacturers is described by the changes in the various subcomponents, per the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), which came in at 61.2 in May. It's a once-in-a-lifetime demand surge but long wait [...]
May 2021
Manufacturing Activity Strengthened in May
Manufacturing Activity Strengthened in May Manufacturing activity strengthened in May, according to the most recent Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity report. All three component indexes-shipments, new orders and employment-reflected growth. The Chicago Fed National Activity [...]
Unfilled Orders Increased
Unfilled Orders Increased and New Orders and Shipments Continued to Expand Unfilled orders increased and new orders and shipments continued to expand strongly in May. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released its Empire State Manufacturing Survey for May 2021 and [...]
US Drill Rigs Running Up 74 from One Year Ago
US Drill Rigs Running Up 74 from One Year Ago US drill rigs running up 74 from one year ago. There were 448 drill rigs running in the US last week, up 8 rigs from the previous count. Canadian drillers operated 55 [...]
Eleventh Straight Consecutive Month of Growth
Eleventh Straight Consecutive Month of Growth Notching an eleventh straight consecutive month of growth in the overall economy, economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in April, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Institute for Supply Management Report on [...]
April 2021
Chicago Business Barometer at Highest Level Since December 1983
Chicago Business Barometer at Highest Level Since December 1983 The Chicago Business Barometer at highest level since December 1983, produced with MNI, accelerated to 72.1 in April. The Barometer is considered to be a leading indicator of the USA economy. Real [...]
Chicago Fed National Activity Index Rose in March
Chicago Fed National Activity Index Rose in March The Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose to +1.71 in March from -1.20 in February. Led by improvements in, personal consumption and housing related indicators, the index's three-month moving average (CFNAI-MA3) moved up [...]
General Business Conditions Index Climbed Nine Points
Headline General Business Conditions Index Climbed Nine Points The headline general business conditions index climbed nine points; a multi-year high. That's according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Empire State Manufacturing Survey for April, which reports business activity grew [...]
US Raw Steel Production Up 15.7 Percent From Depths
US Raw Steel Production Up 15.7 Percent From Depths of the Covid Recession US raw steel production up 15.7 percent from the depths of the covid recession in the week ending April 3, 2021, when it was 1,766,000 net tons at [...]