Fed’s Beige Book reports strong steel production, hotel business in Midwest
April 18, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
by Sara Sargent | Medill Reports - Chicago, Northwestern University
Steel production and tourism continued to perform strongly in the central Midwest in March, while consumer spending and construction declined, according to the Federal Reserve Board’s Beige Book released Wednesday.
The Fed’s Seventh District comprises Iowa and parts of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin.
The Seventh District’s manufacturing report indicates that robust demand for energy extraction and mining equipment is partially accountable for the strength of the steel industry.
“One big steel consumer is energy, and the energy market is very strong as you might expect,” remarked Bob DiCianni, manager of automotive marketing for steel company ArcelorMittal USA, based in Chicago. “There is a lot of steel consumed in the energy market. When you’re drilling down for oil you use steel tubes for that. Oil and natural gas are transported from point A to point B in pipelines and pipelines are made out of steel.”
Foreign demand for American steel also has contributed to the high rate of production. According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, exports for “iron and steel products, other” are $1.1 billion year-to-date, a 17.6 percent increase from the 2007 period.
“Historically the U.S. was not a steel exporter,” DiCianni pointed out. “But right now we are exporting steel because the dollar is weak and foreign markets are booming and they require steel. Countries like China and Russia are making enormous investments in infrastructure and infrastructure is very steel-intensive. The demand for raw materials and energy around the world are very heavy steel-consuming activities.”
Full story at Medill Reports - Chicago, Northwestern University >>
