January U.S. Steel Exports Recover from December Lull

U.S. steel exports in January totaled 831,184 net tons (754,038 metric tons), up 10.5 percent from the month before, and up 1.6 percent from January 2017. Total exports have averaged around 850,000 tons over the last few months after reaching a 2.5-year high in May 2017 (1,006,087 tons). The total January export figure is above the three-month moving average (average of November 2017, December 2017 and January 2018), but below the 12-month moving average (average of February 2017 through January 2018). Here is a breakdown of flat rolled and plate steel exports:

Cut plate exports decreased 10.6 percent from December to 85,929 tons, down 21.3 percent compared to levels one year ago.