Market
October 4, 2024
Week in Review: Strike averted, job growth, September metrics and more
Written by Stephanie Ritenbaugh
The late breaking news Thursday is that the port strike that had the country on pins and needles has been averted. The International Longshoremen’s Association union and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) reached a tentative agreement on wages on Thursday evening. The strike had targeted container terminals and not the breakbulk facilities that handle the bulk of steel shipments. But parties across the steel and ferrous scrap supply chain could have been severely impacted if the strike had dragged on.
Here’s a look at some highlights from the week.
The unemployment report hit Friday morning, revealing that U.S. job growth last month topped all estimates. The jobless rate fell and wage growth accelerated. It’s good news for the economy. Bloomberg notes that this does reduce the odds the Federal Reserve will opt for another big interest-rate cut in November.
In an effort to keep more aluminum in the production stream, Norwegian aluminum and renewable energy company Hydro and scrap management enterprise Padnos have started up their new automated aluminum sorting technology in Michigan. The machine has an annual sorting capacity of 20,000 tonnes of aluminum scrap per year, producing recycled alloys aimed at the U.S. automotive, building and construction, and other key markets.
RMU’s Stephen Miller wrote that the U.S. scrap market has been in a steady decline for the first nine months of this year. And there seems to be scant hope things will change in October. However, some players are seeing a bit of light after this month, depending on steelmaker appetite for scrap. One scrap executive humorously said, “October will be the last scrap shopping month before Christmas.” You can read more about what may lie ahead in Q4 here.
Steel Market Update, our sister publication, provided a monthly review of important steel market metrics for September. It found that prices of sheet and plate steel showed little movement in September, as buyers reported lackluster demand, high inventories, and caution related to the upcoming election. Sheet mills attempted to raise prices via multiple increases but failed to gain much traction. Check out more here.
And here’s some interesting scrap news. Not only were those iconic Olympic Rings and Paralympic Agitos celebrating the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralymics adorning the Eiffel Tower made by ArcelorMittal using XCarb recycled and renewably produced steel — the multinational steelmaker is going to melt Spectaculars and the torches and then remake them into steel beams that will be used in ArcelorMittal new headquarters building in Luxembourg that’s under construction.
Economic highlights for the week
| Consumer credit | Monday, Oct. 7 | 3 p.m. Eastern |
| U.S. trade deficit | Tuesday, Oct. 8 | 8:30 a.m. Eastern |
| Minutes of the Fed’s September FOMC meeting | Wednesday, Oct. 9 | 2 p.m. Eastern |
| Initial jobless claims, consumer price index | Thursday, Oct. 10 | 8:30 a.m. Eastern |
| Producer price index | Friday Oct. 11 | 8:30 a.m. Eastern |
