Prices
Apparent Steel Supply Steady in July
Written by Brett Linton
September 22, 2020
U.S apparent steel supply remained flat from June to July, up 0.8 percent to 6.98 million net tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. While June and July supply levels have both shown improvement, recall that April and May were the two lowest levels seen in the last 10 years at 6.54 million tons and 6.61 million tons, respectively. Apparent steel supply, a proxy for demand, is determined by combining domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then deducting total U.S. steel exports.
July apparent supply was down 2.37 million tons (25.3 percent) compared to the same month one year ago when apparent supply was 9.35 million tons. This change was primarily due to a 2.08 million ton decline in domestic shipments and a 430,000 ton decrease in finished imports, while a 140,000 ton decline in total exports slightly lessened the overall decrease in apparent supply.
The net trade balance between U.S. steel imports and exports was a surplus of 2.22 million tons imported in July, up 127.7 percent from the prior month due to the quarterly semifinished import quota reset from June to July, but down 7.9 percent from one year ago. Finished steel imports accounted for 20.4 percent of apparent steel supply in July, up from 19.2 percent in June and up from 19.9 percent one year ago.
Compared to the prior month when apparent steel supply was 6.93 million tons, July supply rose 56,000 tons or 0.8 percent. This change was due to a 99,000 ton increase in finished imports and a 12,000 ton increase in domestic shipments, the sum of which was cut in half by a 55,000 ton increase in total exports.
The figure below shows year-to-date averages for each statistic over the last five years. As has been the case for the last few months, 2020 apparent supply remains significantly down compared to the first seven months of all previous years shown.
To see an interactive graphic of our Apparent Steel Supply history (example shown below), visit the Apparent Steel Supply page in the Analysis section of the SMU website. If you need any assistance logging into or navigating the website, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475.
Brett Linton
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