U.S., Canadian Metals 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 Metals Activity Report for September 2022 showed steel and aluminum activity decreased in both the United States and Canada. Specifically, U.S. service center steel shipments fell 0.1 percent from September 2021 to September 2022 and shipments of aluminum products dropped 2.3 percent. Canadian service center steel shipments fell 1.7 percent year-over-year and shipments of aluminum products declined 11.3 percent.
• According to the Federal Reserve, U.S. industrial production rose 0.4 percent in September and at a 2.9 percent annual rate in the third quarter. Manufacturing output rose 0.4 percent in September while the index for mining moved up 0.6 percent and the index for utilities fell 0.3 percent. Total industrial production in September was 5.3 percent above the level from September 2021.
• Manufacturing activity weakened in two U.S. regions this month. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general business conditions index declined eight points to -9.1. The new orders index was unchanged at +3.7 while the shipments index fell 20 points to -0.3. The inventories index also edged down to +4.6. Read the full report here. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported general activity and new orders remained negative, and the shipments index was little changed at a low but positive reading. Firms did continue to report higher employment, but the survey’s future general activity indexes suggest firms expect declines overall over the next six months. Read the full report here.
• Employment indicators were strong in the United States last week. The U.S. Department of Labor said 214,000 individuals received federal unemployment benefits during the week that ended October 15, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average of first-time claims rose slightly, however. During the week that ended October 8, 1.385 million people continued to receive benefits, an increase of 21,000 from the previous week. That four-week average also increased slightly.
• In other economic news: The Conference Board Leading Economic Index, a key gauge of U.S. growth, fell 0.4 percent in September 2022 and dropped 2.8 percent from March 2022 to September 2022; Statistics Canada said the country’s retail sales rose 0.7 percent in August; existing U.S. home sales were down 1.5 percent from August 2022 to September 2022  and 23.8 percent from September 2021 to September 2022; and the number of homes in the United States fell 8.1 percent between August and September and 7.7 percent year-over-year.