Prices
November 8, 2022
US Steel Exports Slip 10% in September
Written by Brett Linton
US steel export volumes shrunk 10% from August to September, according to the latest US Commerce Department data. 723,000 net tons of steel products exited the country during the month, now the fourth-lowest monthly export rate over the past year and a half. Recall that exports levels in August were at the third-highest monthly rate seen in the past four years. Exports on a rolling annual basis remain near a three and a a half year high through September figures. September 2022 exports are 1% lower than levels seen one year prior.
Export levels this year have remained relatively high compared to recent years, as shown in Figure 1. The highest monthly figure seen in the past four years was in March 2022 at 843,000 tons. The highest level recorded in the chart below was 1.05 million tons in May 2017, and the highest monthly rate in our history was January 2012 at 1.32 million tons. Recall that in 2020, steel exports fell to a 24-year low of 374,000 tons in May.
