The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Composite fell back 1.5 points in May to 117.9 points, while the three month moving average (3MMA) stood at 119.7. Despite the decline for the second consecutive month, the 3MMA is at its highest level since January 2001.

Beam licenses thus far in May total 29,142 tons, down 52.7% from last year’s 61,579 tons. Year to date (YTD), there have been a total of 194,775 tons of Beam license requests, down 53,312 tons or -21.5% from YTD 2016.

Rebar licenses thus far in May total 56,450 tons, down 64.5% from last month’s 159,020 tons. Year to date (YTD), there have been a total of 762,663 tons of rebar license requests, down 63,500 tons or 7.7% from YTD 2016.

The national ABI score for April was 50.9 (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The ABI has been greater than 50 for three of months in a row and for five of the last six months.

Total housing starts were reported at a seasonally adjusted (SA), annual rate of 1,221,000 for the month of April. On a three month moving average (3MMA), basis SA starts were 1,160,000, a 5.2% year on year growth rate.

The CFNAI’s headline index surged to its highest level since November 2014. A 0.46 gain from production associated indicators was principal driver. The strong rise boosted the 3 month moving average (3MMA), its best showing since December 2014.