Steel Products Prices North America

July Apparent Steel Supply Reaches 30-Month High
Written by Brett Linton
September 14, 2021
July apparent steel supply increased 312,000 tons over June to 9.70 million net tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. This is now the highest supply level seen since January 2019, a 30-month record. July supply is up 2.73 million tons compared to the same month one year ago.
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.
July apparent supply is up 39.1% compared to the same month last year, when supply was 6.97 million tons. This increase was primarily due to an increase in domestic shipments of 2.24 million tons, followed by a 733,000-ton increase in finished imports, slightly negated by a 249,000-ton increase in exports. The net trade balance between U.S. steel imports and exports rose to a surplus of 2.32 million tons imported in July, up 5.5% from one year prior. Finished steel imports accounted for 22.4% of apparent steel supply in July, up 1.7% from one year ago.
Compared to the month prior when the apparent supply was 9.38 million tons, July supply rose by 312,000 tons or 3.3%. This increase was primarily due to a 247,000-ton increase in domestic shipments, followed by a 42,000-ton increase in finished imports and a 22,000-ton decrease in exports. The net trade balance between imports and exports in July rose 7.9% from June, while the percentage of apparent steel supply composed of finished steel imports declined 0.3%.
The figure below shows year-to-date averages for each statistic over the last five years. The average monthly apparent supply level for the first seven months of 2021 has greatly improved compared to the 2020 average but is 440,000-560,000 tons lower compared to the monthly averages 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.
By Brett Linton, Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Products Prices North America

CRU: Q3 will be the lowest point in current sheet price cycle
CRU Principal Analyst Shankhadeep Mukherjee expects a restocking cycle for steel sheet products in most parts of the world due to either low inventories or seasonally stronger demand.

CRU: US rebar and wire rod prices rise alongside S232 increase
CRU Senior Steel Analyst Alexandra Anderson discusses current market and pricing dynamics for long steel products in the US.

SMU Price Ranges: Sheet and plate steady ahead of Independence Day
Sheet and plate prices were little changed in the shortened week ahead of Independence Day, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.

Nucor maintains plate prices, opens August order book
Nucor aims to keep plate prices flat again with the opening of its August order book.

Nucor CSP remains level at $900/ton
Nucor maintained its weekly list price for hot-rolled (HR) coil this week, following two consecutive increases.