Oil and Gas Rotary Rig Counts:  The total number of operating rigs in Canada for the week ending August 27th was 85 oil and 62 gas (totaling 147). In percentage terms, on a month on month (m/m) basis, oil rigs were down 8.6% and gas up 5.1%. On a year on year (y/y) comparison, rigs were up 347.4% for oil and up 77.1% for gas. The combined figure for y/y was +172.2% or 93 rigs.

Oil and Gas Rotary Rig Counts: The total number of operating rigs in the U.S. for the week ending August 27th was 410 oil and 97 gas (totaling 507). In percentage terms, on a month on month (m/m) basis, oil rigs were up 6.5% and gas was down 5.8%. On a year on year (y/y) comparison, rigs were up 127.8% for oil and up 34.7% for gas. The combined figure for y/y was +100.0%, or +254 rigs.

Employment by Industry (U.S.): In August 2021, the total number of seasonally adjusted (SA), non-farm people employed in the U.S. was 147.19 million (M) – an increase of 235,000 (+0.2%) month on month (m/m). When compared to August 2020, total employment is up by 4.3% year on year (y/y).  Among the employment sectors that we track here at Gerdau, we saw the greatest gains in the manufacturing sector this month.

Advance Durable Goods Orders: The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new orders for durable goods in July 2021 decreased by 0.1% month on month (m/m) to $257.2M, following the 0.8% increase in June. The always-volatile nondefense aircraft orders, down 48.9% m/m, influenced this trend significantly.

Producer Price Index:  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand grew 1.0% in July 2021. Pricing for services grew 1.1% while pricing for goods increased 0.6%. The final demand index moved up by 7.8% for the 12-month period ending in July.

Employment by Industry (U.S.): In July 2021, the total number of seasonally adjusted (SA), non-farm people employed in the U.S. was 146.8 million (M) – an increase of 943,000 (+0.6%) month on month (m/m). When compared to July 2020, total employment is up by 5.2% year on year (y/y).  All employment sectors that we track grew this month, but we saw the greatest gains in the service-providing sector.