According to the Metal Industry Indicators report released by the US Geological Survey (USGS), the US economic recovery has supported domestic primary metals industry activity with modest metals demand coming from the manufacturing sector. The construction sector is also generating a higher metals demand. However, slower global economic growth continues to reduce demand for US metals.
The steel leading index for the US increased 0.7 percent in January this year, the latest month for which it is available, to 111.7 from a revised 110.9 in December. Its six-month smoothed growth rate increased to 2.4 percent from a revised one percent. The USGS report points out that the steel leading index growth rate has generally moved higher since August 2012 and suggests that the decline in US steel industry activity could end soon.
Note: Composite coincident indexes for the metal industries consist of indicators for production, shipments, and total employee hours worked. A growth rate above +1.0 percent is usually a sign of an upward near-term trend for future metals activity, while a growth rate below -1.0 percent indicates a downward trend.