Steel Products Prices North America

February Apparent Steel Supply at 14 Month Low
Written by Brett Linton
April 9, 2015
According to the latest data released from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of February 2015 is 8,968,831 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports and subtracting total US steel exports.
February supply represents a 33,870 ton or 0.4 percent decrease compared to the same month one year ago. Although finished imports increased 633,441 tons (27.7 percent) and exports declined 25,472 tons (2.8 percent) during this period, it was all negated by a 692,784 ton (9.1 percent) drop in domestic shipments. The net trade balance between imports and exports was a surplus of 2,832,882 tons in February, an increase of 18.9 percent from the same month last year.
SMU Note: Our Premium Level apparent steel supply analysis goes into more detail as we provide data on apparent steel supply for flat and long products. We plan to publish this analysis in the next few days.
When compared to last month when apparent steel supply was at 10,422,485 tons, February supply decreased by 1,453,654 tons or 13.9 percent. The month over month decline is mostly attributed to a 837,146 ton or 10.8 percent decline in domestic shipments and a 663,276 ton or 18.5 percent drop in finished imports.
On a year-to-date basis, the 2015 averages are mixed in comparison to previous years. Since the 2015 averages are only based off of two months, and the previous years are over the entire year, the graphic below should be take with a grain of salt.
You can view the interactive graphic of our Apparent Steel Supply history below when you are logged into the website and reading the newsletter online. If you need help accessing or navigating the website, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475.
{amchart id=”120″ Apparent Steel Supply- Domestic Shipments, Semi-Fin Imports, Exports}

Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges: HR holds, galv slips amid competing market narratives
SMU’s sheet and plate prices see-sawed this week as hot-rolled (HR) coil prices held their ground while prices for galvanized product slipped.

Nucor carries $875/ton HR list price into week seven
Nucor is keeping hot-rolled (HR) coil prices unchanged again this week, according to its latest consumer spot price (CSP) notice issued on Monday, Oct. 6

SMU Price Ranges: A newsy week sees modest price gains despite a quiet spot market
Market participants predicted that prices should be at or near a bottom. But while most seemed to agree on that point, many also said they saw little upside given a quiet spot market and ongoing concerns about demand.

Nucor increases plate prices by $60/ton
Nucor aims to increase prices for steel plate by $60 per short ton with the opening of its November order book.

Nucor’s $875/ton HR spot price spills into week six
Nucor is keeping hot-rolled (HR) coil prices unchanged again this week, according to its latest consumer spot price (CSP) notice issued on Monday, Sept. 29.