Loading price data
This is the Global Economic, Commodities, Scrap Metal and Recycling Report, by our BENLEE Roll off Trailer and Open Top Trailer, September 8th, 2020.
U.S. weekly steel production fell to 1.383M GT, still near the multi month high as the economy slowly continues to reopen.
Crude Oil price fell to $39.77/b a multi month low, on good, but slower U.S. job gains, falling demand and over supply concerns. Venezuela, the #1 Country in proven oil reserves, just shut their last oil rig, yet global prices remain low.
The U.S. Oil rig count rose to 181 near a decade low, due to low prices, low demand and oversupply. Current prices hurt U.S. profitability.
U.S. weekly oil production fell to 9.7M barrels per day, a multiyear low on low prices and hurricane Laura.
Scrap #1 HMS Export Buying price Philly, was steady at $220/GT, as upward pressure remains on price due to increased demand.
Scrap steel #1 HMS price rose to about $246/GT to a multi month high on increased U.S. and global demand. There is upward price pressure for October.
Hot Roll Coil steel rose to $26.40/cwt, a multi month high on increased demand and increased iron ore and scrap metal prices.
Copper rose to $3.075 a multiyear high on slow global growth. This is a very positive global economic indicator.
Aluminum price rose to 79.7 cents a pound, a multi month high, leaving out spikes, on slow global growth.
Cardboard Scrap Price, OCC South East was steady at $70/ton on moderate demand and a good supply.
The U.S. trade deficit in July jumped to a hugely negative $63.6 billion dollars, the worst in 12 years. Despite years of trade deals and programs, imports surged 10.9% as U.S. imports of cars, Car parts, and airplanes, skyrocketed.
U.S. New jobs for August fell to 1.371 million new jobs, which is normally great, but that leaves a huge 11.5 million below February. Worse is that 344,000 of the gain is temporary government census workers.
Total U.S. jobs, which is truly people working ending August, shows recent gains were great, but the current job level is back to where it was in March 2015, 5.5 years ago. All jobs created in past 5.5 years are still gone.
The U.S. Unemployment rate percent fell to 8.4% which is Great, But the government also says that if they included COVID temporary layoffs, which they do not, the real number would be 9.1% and if they included the 3.7 million people that simply stopped looking for a job, then the real number could be considered as 11.4%.
U.S. Vehicle sales rose to 15.19M annualized, which is good, but many were imports. Sales and Production is forecast to increase.
The U.S. IHS Economic Index rose to 54.6 the highest growth since March 2019 as new orders rose for the first time since February and employment increased the most since February.
Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 521 points to 28,133 with concerns over economic growth and a possible K shape recovery, where the rich have a V shape which is a fast recovery and the middle class, goes up a bit and then down.
Member