Chicago Business Barometer Rose 3.1 Points The Chicago Business Barometer rose 3.1 points in November, hitting a 127th consecutive month two-month high 46.3, however, the index remains in contraction for the third straight month. The New Orders and Order Backlogs indices saw the largest monthly improvements in November. Supplier deliveries fell and Production slipped as [...]
US Employers Added 312,000 Jobs in December US employers added 312,000 jobs in December, the fastest pace since February and wages surged, suggesting the economy maintained strong momentum at the end of 2018 even as financial markets sank. WSJ The Chicago Business Barometer eased to 65.4 in December from 66.4 in November. Three of the [...]
Increasing Raw Material Costs Driving SBQ Prices Up Increasing raw material costs driving SBQ prices up by $1 per hundredweight ($20/per ton) across all grades with market participants reporting lead times for hot rolled bar that extend into early February 2019. AMM's price assessment for 1 inch round 1000 series hot rolled bar was at [...]
Raw Steel Output Rose 1.4% Last Week to an ACUR of 79.8% Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) The CFNAI released on Monday reports: Led by slower growth in production related indicators, the CFNAI edged down to +0.12 in June from +0.16 in May. The index’s 3 month moving average (CFNAI-MA3), decreased to +0.13 in [...]
