Research

Forecasts and market analysis based on price assessments from Fastmarkets MB and Fastmarkets AMM

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February 2017 | Stainless Steels


US stainless market holds up despite somewhat uncertain pricing environment: American Highlights


Raw material surcharges for most stainless steel grades, particularly ferritic grades, eased for March on the back of a 3% decline in iron prices during the surcharge period.

Overall the US stainless steel market remains optimistic about the future...
With January’s base price increases firmly in place and generally positive business conditions in the manufacturing sector as a whole, including most major stainless steel end use sectors, MBR believes that the US stainless steel market should continue to improve as the year progresses. This is especially so if, as some believe, certain policies being pushed by the Trump administration, including tax reform, less federal regulation, re-sourcing of manufacturing and more investment in the nation’s infrastructure, have their desired effect of stepping up US economic growth.

Even before those policies have been put in place there have been signs of economic improvements. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index continues to rise, registering 56% in January with its new orders index moving up to 60.4% and its production index reaching 61.4%. Likewise, the...

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