Reliance Sees Record Profits in Q2 Despite Supply Constraints

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.’s sales soared to a record of $3.42 billion in the second quarter on shipments of 1.424 million tons. Sales were up 20.4% from the previous quarter and up 69.3% from the same period last year. The record-setting results for the largest service center in North America were due primarily to the historic strength in metals pricing, the company said today in its quarterly earnings report.

Reliance’s second-quarter shipments rose by just 1.0% over Q1, but were up 17.5% year on year. The company reported strong demand trends in most of its end markets despite the small uptick quarter on quarter, adding that underlying demand is stronger than its Q2 shipments reflect due to factors hindering economic activity such as metal supply constraints, labor shortages and other supply-chain disruptions.

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.