MSCI Metals Activity Report Shows Declining Shipments For Most Metals

Connecting the Dots monitors all major economic announcements in the United States and Canada, but MSCI also offers industrial metals industry-specific data products that provide much deeper analysis and insight. Visit MSCI’s website and click on industry data to learn more about our Metals Activity Report (MAR), Momentum Monitors, and Economic Opportunity and Risk Tracker.

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

• MSCI’s Metals Activity Report showed U.S. steel shipments increased from November 2021 to November 2022 while all other shipments in the United States and Canada declined. Specifically, U.S. service center steel shipments rose 1.3 percent from November 2021 to November 2022. Shipments of aluminum products fell 4.2 percent from the same month in 2021. Canadian service center steel shipments declined 1.9 percent year-over-year while shipments of aluminum products decreased fell 4.6 percent from the same month in 2021.
• According to the Federal Reserve, industrial production in the United States declined 0.2 percent in November. Manufacturing output fell 0.6 percent while mining production was down 0.7 percent. Output at utilities was up 3.6 percent, however. At 104.5 percent of its 2017 average, total industrial production in November was 2.5 percent above its reading from one year earlier. Click here to read the full report.
• Statistics Canada announced last week that manufacturing sales in the country rose 2.8 percent to $72.6 billion in October due to higher sales in 12 of the 21 industries. The gain was led by a 12.7 percent increase in petroleum and coal industry sales. Food sales also hit a record high.
• Statistics Canada also reported last week that wholesale sales rose 2.1 percent to $83.4 billion in October due to increases in six of the seven subsectors the agency tracks. Of particular note: the building material and supplies subsector rose 3.3 percent to $12.6 billion in October on higher sales for lumber, millwork, hardware, and other building supplies while the personal and household goods subsector rose 2.8 percent to $11.6 billion.
• The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced last week that the manufacturing sector in its region contracted in December. The general business conditions index fell 16 points to -11.2. The new orders index held steady at -3.6, pointing to another small drop in orders, while the shipments index fell three points to 5.3. Inventories also retreated, sliding down to 3.7. Read more here.
• Manufacturing activity also declined in the Philadelphia area. The regional Federal Reserve bank there reported its diffusion index for current general activity remained in negative territory event though it rose six points to -13.8 in December. Thirty-one percent of the firms reported declines in activity, while 17 percent reported increases. The indicators for new orders and shipments both declined, however. Read the full report here.
• According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 211,000 individuals filed for federal unemployment benefits during the week that ended December 10, a decrease of 20,000 from the prior week’s level. The four-week moving average of first-time claims also fell. During the week that ended December 3, 1.671 million individuals continued to receive benefits, an increase of 1,000 from the prior week’s level. The four-week moving average of continuing claims also rose.
• In other economic news: Statistics Canada said new vehicle sales in the country fell 5.2 percent from September 2022 to October 2022, but were up 0.8 percent from October 2021 to October 2022; and U.S. orders for machine tools fell 11.6 percent from September to October and were down 19.7 percent year-over-year.