Steel Products Prices North America

August Apparent Steel Supply Breaks Above 7 Million Tons

October 13, 2020

U.S. apparent steel supply continued it’s recovery in August, up 2.6 percent from July to 7.17 million net tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. While supply levels have improved each month since May, 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 mill shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then deducting total U.S. steel exports.

August apparent supply was down 2.46 million tons (25.5 percent) compared to the same month one year ago when apparent supply was 9.63 million tons. This change was primarily due to a 1.94 million ton decline in domestic shipments and a 620,000 ton decrease in finished imports, while a 100,000 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 740,000 tons imported in August, down 66.4 percent from the prior month (due to the quarterly semifinished import quota reset from June to July), and down 45.6 percent from one year prior. Finished steel imports accounted for 16.6 percent of apparent steel supply in August, down from 20.4 percent in July and down from 18.7 percent one year ago.

Compared to the prior month when apparent steel supply was 6.98 million tons, August supply rose 180,000 tons or 2.6 percent. This change was due to a 500,000 ton increase in domestic shipments, somewhat negated by a 240,000 ton decrease in finished imports and a 70,000 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 eight 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

Brett Linton is a senior 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.