May Apparent Steel Supply at 4+ Year High

Apparent steel supply for May was 10,321,747 net tons, the highest figure Steel Market Update has in its recorded history back to January 2010 (by no means a historical record). Steel Market Update calculates apparent steel supply by adding domestic shipments and finished US imports and subtracting total US exports. May supply represents a 1,262,877 ton or 13.9 percent increase compared to the same month one year ago. This is primarily due to the massive spike in 2014 imports, with final May imports up 42.1 percent or 1,195,058 net tons over May 2013 tonnage. Domestic shipments and finished imports also increased over levels one year prior, while exports decreased. The net trade balance between imports and exports was a surplus of 2,997,743 tons in May, an increase of 78.9 percent from the same month last year, and also the highest figure in our 4+ year recorded history.