North American Industrial Metals Shipments May Be Stabilizing

Connecting the Dots monitors all major economic announcements in the United States and Canada, but the Metals Service Center Institute also offers industrial metals industry-specific data products that provide much deeper analysis and insight. Visit MSCI’s website and click on industry data to learn more about our Metals Activity Report (MAR), Momentum Monitors, and Macroeconomic Current.

Meanwhile, here are the major economic headlines from the last week:

• According MSCI’s MAR, North American service center metals shipments showed signs of stabilization in July. While U.S. steel shipments fell 2.8 percent between July 2024 and July 2025, aluminum shipments were up 0.3 percent. Canadian service centers also saw a narrower decline in steel shipments — they fell 1.5 percent — but aluminum shipments rose by 2.6 percent. After months of broad-based contraction, particularly for aluminum products, these readings indicate a potential shift in momentum.
• The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said manufacturing activity in its region weakened in August. The bank’s current general activity index fell to a near-zero reading, the new orders index dipped into negative territory, and the shipments index also declined though it did remain positive. The employment index continued to suggest overall increases, however, and the number of firms that expect growth over the next six months improved. Read the full report at this link.
• The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI), a key indicator of future economic growth in the United States, fell 0.1 percent in July 2025 to 98.7. The LEI dropped by 2.7 percent over the six month period between January and July 2025, a faster decline than its one percent contraction over the previous six-month period.
• Canadian retail sales increased 1.5 percent to $70.2 billion in June. Sales were up in all nine subsectors and were led by increases at food and beverage retailers. For the second quarter, retail sales increased 0.4 percent. Core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers, rose 1.9 percent for the month.
• The number of people who claimed U.S. unemployment benefits for the first time ever was 235,000 during the week that ended Aug. 16. That number was up by 11,000 from the previous week. Averaged over the past four weeks, the number of first-time claims was 226,250, an increase 4,500 from the week before. In all, more than 1.954 million people claimed federal unemployment benefits during the week that ended Aug. 9, a figure that was up by 6,500 from the previous week.
• In other economic news: the number of new homes under construction in the United States increased 5.2 percent from June 2025 to July 2025 and 12.9 percent from July 2024 to July 2025; the number of existing homes for sale in the United States rose two percent from June to July, but only 0.8 percent year-over-year; and Canada’s consumer price index increased 0.3 percent between June and July and 1.7 percent year-over-year.