Steel Product Shipments and Inventories Through January

Steel product shipments continued to improve through January this year, maintaining a month-on-month growth trend since bottoming in April 2020 when COVID shook the economy. Steel shipments have recovered to pre-pandemic volumes and posted an increase of 2.7% compared to January 2020 levels, according to Census Bureau data on inventories, shipments and new orders for total U.S. manufacturing and steel products.

Total shipments and inventories are reported in millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted. Year over year through January, total manufactured product shipments rose to a positive 7.8% compared with a positive 5.0% the month prior. This past December was the first positive for manufactured goods in 2020, with January’s totals a promising start to 2021.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

David Schollaert

Latest in Market Data

SMU Price Ranges: Sheet, plate still rising with no end in sight

AISI: US production edges back down

Nucor ups HR coil CSP to $1,230/ton

Drilling activity eases in the US, moves higher in Canada

SMU Survey: Current Buyers’ Sentiment Index declines, Future Sentiment flat