• Skip to main content

    Prices

    January 17, 2016

    November Apparent Steel Supply Down 20% YTD and Down 13% Over October

    Written by Brett Linton

    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 November 2015 was 7,710,331 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports and subtracting total US steel exports. Foreign steel imports accounted for 25.5 percent of Apparent Steel Supply. This is 5.1 percent lower than November 2014.

    November supply represents a 1,927,018 ton or 20.0 percent decrease compared to the same month one year ago when apparent steel supply was 9,637,349 tons. This is attributed to a 1,180,216 ton or 15.5 percent drop in domestic shipments and a decline in finished imports of 988,467 tons or 33.5 percent. A decrease in total exports of 241,665 tons or 25.3 percent negated the change. The net trade balance between imports and exports was a surplus of 1,741,430 tons in November 2015, 998,891 tons less than that of November 2014.

    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.

    Read more from Brett Linton

    Latest in Prices

    Mills seek more scrap after lower prices fail to attract tons

    Several mills that bought October scrap early last week are still asking for additional supplies, scrap market participants said. The reason: the mills' initial prices did not attract enough of the raw material, they said. A trading source based in northern Ohio said three mills have contacted his firm seeking offers for additional tons. He said the mills asked for offers even if prices were higher than their original buys last week.

    Nucor increases spot HR to $1,240/ton

    Nucor said on Monday, Oct. 12, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,240 per short ton (st) this week, a $10/st increase from a week earlier. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,305/st, up $15/st from the prior week. Nucor is still offering lead times of three to five weeks, according to the letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Oct. 6, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,270/st, up $10/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 13.