Irving, Texas-based Commercial Metals Company's (CMC) reported Friday that in its fiscal Q1 (ended November 30, 2011), its Americas Fabrication segment was once again affected by "an overall difficult rebar fabricated steel market," and the sector incurred an operating loss of $7.4 million over the quarter compared to a $22 million net loss in the comparable period a year ago.
When asked further about the loss during the question-and-answer portion of the call, Joe Alvarado, CMC president and CEO, said the fabrication market remains oversupplied. While certain regions of the US are showing growth, particularly in the Central area such as Texas, other areas, especially in the West Coast, are still struggling with a slack construction market. The construction market is in a need of a boost, according to CMC, but Alvarado said they aren't counting on any government stimulus.
Most of CMC's order book--about 70 percent--used to be rooted in the non-residential construction market and fell to as low as 30 percent a couple years ago, and has now recovered up to about 40 percent.