North American Steel And Aluminum Shipments Decline In September

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Meanwhile, here are the major economic headlines from the last week:

• The Metals Service Center Institute’s September 2024 Metals Activity Report showed declines across the board for North American steel and aluminum shipments. Specifically, U.S. service center steel shipments fell 0.4 percent between September 2023 and September 2024 while shipments of aluminum products were dpwm 3.5 percent. Canadian service center steel shipments fell by 17.2 percent year-over-year while shipments of aluminum products were down 12.4 percent.
• U.S. Industrial production decreased 0.3 percent in September after a strike at a major producer of civilian aircraft held down total growth by an estimated 0.3 percent and the effects of two hurricanes subtracted another 0.3 percent. For the third quarter as a whole, industrial production declined at an annual rate of 0.6 percent. Manufacturing output fell 0.4 percent in September while the index for mining was down 0.6 percent. The index for utilities gained 0.7 percent, meanwhile. Read the full report at this link.
• Statistics Canada reported that, in August, the country’s manufacturing sales to their lowest level since January 2022. Sales were down 1.3 percent for the month to $69.4 billion. The decline was due mostly to weak sales in the primary metals subsector, where sales fell 6.4 percent, and to a decline in petroleum and coal sales. In the United States, meanwhile, the combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for August was down 0.2 percent July 2024, but up 1.3 percent from August 2023. Inventories were up 0.3 percent for the month and 2.4 percent year-over-year. Read the full report at this link.
• Regional manufacturing readings have been mixed so far this month. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, manufacturing activity in its region expanded in October, with improvements in general activity, new orders, and shipments. The bank’s overall manufacturing gauge rose to +10.3 from +1.7 in September even though the employment index declined slightly. Read the full report at this link. Meanwhile, after climbing into positive territory last month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general business conditions index fell 23 points to -11.9. New orders declined, and shipments also dropped. Inventories shrank, and labor market conditions improved, with a small increase in both employment and the average workweek. Read the full report at this link.
• In Canada, investment in building construction rose 0.2 percent to $21 billion in August after declining 1.6 percent in July. Investment in the residential sector fell 0.1 percent while it rose one percent in the non-residential sector. Read more at this link. In the United States, the number of new homes under construction fell 0.5 percent from August 2024 to September 2024, but were up 2.7 percent between September 2023 and September 2024.
• The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits for the first time stood at 241,000 during the week that ended Oct. 12, a figure that was down by 19,000 from the week before. Averaged over the past four weeks, first-time claims rose to 236,250. In all, nearly 1.867 million people claimed jobless benefits during the week that ended Oct. 5, a number that was up by 9,000 from the week before.
• In other economic news: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. import prices declined 0.4 percent in September while U.S. export prices fell 0.7 percent. Canada’s consumer price index fell 0.4 percent from August 2024 to September 2024 and was up 1.6 percent between September 2023 and September 2024. The year-over-year increase was the smallest since February 2021.