Economic Outlook Conference presentation by Robert Dicianni

Attendees at the 2011 NFPA Industry and Economic Outlook Conference held on August 15-17 in Schaumburg, IL were treated to some different perspectives this year. One of them was given by Robert Dicianni from the Marketing Office of ArcelorMittal USA, the steel giant.

Of course, all of the manufacturing sector of the US economy were hit hard by the Great Recession, but Dicianni makes the claim, understandably so, that sectors that consume steel were even more disproportionately impacted. Consider the declines in construction just to name a few steel consuming industries.

He also made the point that while the recovery in the manufacturing sector is less than complete, some steel consuming sectors have actually outperformed total manufacturing growth. The two largest consuming markets for steel are nonresidential construction and automotive. Both have have experienced a decent recovery. The slightly lower than average inventory of autos has lead to an increase in new vehicles.

During his presentation, Dicianni also discussed the appliance market, HVAC, office furniture market, and energy in his overal presentation of the markets that use steel and affect the steel industry. It was interesting to note that the US consumes about 10% of world steel production.

This was a very interesting talk because it presented specifics on a particular market for fluid power products, the steel industry. As our recovery continues, this will be an important industry to watch.