U.S. Steel Imports Grew Nearly 10 Percent In November 2024

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

• The United States imported 30,779 tons of steel products from China for domestic use in November 2024. That number reflected a 9.8 percent increase from November 2023. Find more information at this link and at this link. Meanwhile, exports of finished steel goods from China expanded 22.7 percent in 2024 to reach a nine-year high. Read that story at this link.
• The U.S. trade deficit reached almost $80 billion in November 2024 due mostly to the fact that Americans were buying more foreign goods and the fact that a strong dollar limited the value of exports. Overall, imports into the United States totaled $351.6 billion, while exports amounted to $273.4 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $78.2 billion. The goods deficit increased $5.4 billion to $103.4 billion while the services surplus rose $0.9 billion to $25.2 billion.
• According to Statistics Canada, the country recorded its ninth consecutive monthly trade deficit in November due to the fact that exports rose faster than imports. The gap did narrow, however, falling from $544 million in October to $323 million in November. Total exports rose 2.2 percent in November due to gains in a broad section of product categories. Imports increased by just 1.8 percent due mostly to improved shipments of consumer goods and chemical, plastic, and rubber products.
• The U.S. economy added 256,000 jobs in December, but employment levels in the manufacturing sector remained largely the same. The nation’s unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent the previous month. In related news: there were 8.1 million jobs, including 412,000 in the manufacturing sector, that went unfilled in the United States in November 2024. The open jobs number for the manufacturing industry was down from 553,000 in November 2023. Read that report at this link.
• The Canadian economy added 91,000 jobs in December while the country’s unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.7 percent. Employment gains were led by gains in educational services; transportation and warehousing; finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing; and health care and social assistance. Read the full report at this link.
• U.S. wholesale sales were up 0.6 percent from October 2024 to November 2024, and two percent from November 2023 to November 2024. Total inventories fell 0.2 percent for the month, but rose 0.8 percent year-over-year.
• The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits for the first time stood at 201,000 during the week that ended Jan. 4, a figure that was down by 10,000 from the week before. Averaged over the past four weeks, first-time claims fell to 213,000. In all, nearly 1.867 million people claimed jobless benefits during the week that ended Dec. 28, a number that was up by 33,000 from the week before.