Steel Markets

US Apparent Steel Supply Falls in November

January 25, 2023

US apparent steel supply dropped 6% in November to 8 million net tons compared to the previous month, according to data from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Apparent steel supply is determined by combining domestic steel mill shipments and finished US steel imports, then deducting total US steel exports.

Nov22 Apparent Supply Fig 1.1

November apparent supply total was 1.75 million tons lower than the same month one year ago when supply stood at 9.77 million tons. Figure 2 shows November trade statistics year over year (YOY) for each of the past three years.

Apparent Supply Nov22 Fig2

Apparent steel supply has been mixed since September. Figure 3 shows monthly statistics over the last three months.

Apparent Supply Nov22 Fig3

Figure 4 shows year-to-date (YTD) monthly averages for each statistic over the last five years. The average monthly apparent supply level for the first eleven months of 2022 is now 8.17 million tons.

Apparent Supply Nov22 Fig4

Though numbers for November dropped, finished imports made up the highest percentage of apparent supply since 2018.

To see an interactive graphic of our Apparent Steel Supply history, 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 Becca Moczygemba, becca@steelmarketupdate.com

Becca Moczygemba

Becca Moczygemba is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has been in the steel industry since 2017, specializing in flat-rolled products. Prior to joining SMU, she held positions at Mitsui & Co. and Kloeckner Metals. Becca has a BA in Organizational/Corporate Communication from the University of Houston and an MBA from Norwich University. Contact Becca at becca@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1000.