Apparent Steel Supply Exceeded 10M Tons in September

Apparent steel supply for September was 10,305,707 net tons, the third biggest month since the beginning of the Great Recession. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic shipments and finished US imports and subtracting total US exports. Note that our Premium member analysis breaks down apparent steel supply by flat and long products.

September supply represents a 1,262,287 ton or 14.0 percent increase compared to the same month one year ago. This is primarily due to the massive spike in 2014 imports, with total September imports up 38.3 percent or 1,080,448 tons over September 2013 tonnage. Domestic shipments and finished imports also increased over levels one year prior, while exports have remained fairly steady. The net trade balance between imports and exports was a surplus of 2,866,387 tons in September, an increase of 59.5 percent from the same month last year.

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a digital operations analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.