MSCI’s MAR Shows Growth In U.S., Canadian Service Center Shipments In November

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 (https://www.msci.org/) to learn more about our Metals Activity Report (MAR), Momentum Monitors, and Economic Opportunity and Risk Tracker.

According to the MAR, steel shipments increased in the United States and declined at a much lower rate in Canada in November. Aluminum shipments increased in both countries last month. Specifically:

• S. service center steel shipments increased 2.8 percent from November 2020 to November 2021 while shipments of aluminum products rose 11.9 percent.
• Canadian service center steel shipments fell 6.8 percent year-over-year and shipments of aluminum products rose 1.1 percent from the same month in 2020.

Find more information about the MAR on MSCI’s website.

Here are the other major economic headlines from the last week:

• According to Statistics Canada, manufacturing sales  rose 4.3 percent in the country in October due in large part to gains in the auto sector and primary metal industries. The agency says manufacturing sales climbed $61.2 billion in October after posting a 2.8 percent decline in September. Additionally, Canadian wholesale sales  rose to a record level in October, increasing 1.4 percent in October to $72.5 billion. Five of seven subsectors improved in October with sales of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts and accessories leading the gains with 7.1 percent growth for the month.
• Strong global demand helped increase U.S. export prices by more than 18 percent between November 2020 and November 2021. It was the biggest increase since September 1984, when the U.S. Labor Department price series began. Read the full report here.
• Readings for manufacturing sectors in various regions of the United States remained in positive territory in December. The headline general business conditions index for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s manufacturing survey held steady at +31.9. New orders and shipments posted substantial increases, and firms had more unfilled orders. Read the full report here. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its manufacturing growth in the region continued but was less widespread in December. The survey’s indicators for general activity, shipments, and new orders all declined to their lowest readings in 2021, but did remain positive. Read that report here. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s overall manufacturing reading remained at +24 in December. The bank said factory growth was driven by increased activity at nondurable goods plants, especially for paper, chemicals, plastics, and transportation equipment manufacturing. That report is available here.
• New applications for U.S. federal unemployment benefits rose during the week that ended December 11 after falling to their lowest level since 1969 during the prior week. Specifically, seasonally adjusted initial claims totaled 206,000, up from 188,000 the week of December 4. The four-week moving average of first-time claims fell to 203,750, the lowest level since November 15, 1969.
• In other economic news: the number of new homes under construction in the United States rose 11.8 percent from October 2021 to November 2021 and 8.3 percent from November 2020 to November 2021; the U.S. producer price index increased 9.6 percent from November 2020 to November 2021, the largest jump since the government started keeping records in 2010; the U.S. consumer price index rose 0.8 percent from October 2021 to November 2021 and 6.8 percent year-over-year and, according to International Monetary Fund data, the United States is now tied for the fastest rate of inflation among 35 advanced economies; Statistics Canada reported inflation held steady in November as the consumer price index rose 4.7 percent from November 2020 to November 2021.