The American Iron and Steel Institute reported that for the month of December 2016, U.S. steel mills shipped 7,173,245 net tons, a 6.7% increase from the 6,724,277 nt shipped in the previous month, November 2016, and a 9.4% increase from the 6,556,342 nt shipped in December 2015.  Shipments for full year 2016 are 86,533,341 nt – a slight change from shipments of 86,546,657 nt for full year 2015.

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A comparison of December 2016 shipments to the previous month shows the following changes: hot-rolled sheet, up 11%; cold-rolled sheet, up 4%, and hot-dipped galvanized sheet and strip, down 3%.

Manufacturing PMI Hits a 2-year High

The January 2017 Institute for Supply Management Purchasing Managers’ Index and Non-Manufacturing Index, released on February 1 and February 3, respectively, reveal a surging manufacturing sector in the U.S., with slowing growth in the services sector.

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The PMI® jumped 1.5 percentage points to 56.0, its highest level in more than two years. At 56.5, the NMI® declined by one-tenth of a percentage point, indicating slowing growth in the non-manufacturing portion of the economy.