Steel Products Prices North America

Steel Exports Hit Almost Five-Year High in May

July 10, 2023

US steel exports spiked in May to the highest monthly level in nearly five years.

Exports reached 914,018 net tons in May (Fig. 1), according to the latest figures from the US Department of Commerce. That’s 19% higher month-on-month and 15% higher year-on-year. Recall that exports in March neared a five-year high; May’s total was 3% higher than March’s exports of 886,458 tons.

Shipments to Mexico were at a recent high of 446,610 tons in May on noticeably higher amounts of cut-to-length plate, hot-dipped galvanized sheet and strip, and cold-rolled sheet.

07.10.23 Exports Fig 1

After rising sharply mid-2021, the 12-month moving average (12MMA) of exports has been slowly inching higher. In May, it reached 761,404 tons (Fig. 2). We have to go back to December 2018 to see a higher 12MMA.

07.10.23 Exports Fig 2

May’s exports of most flat-rolled products were markedly higher than their 3-month and 12-month moving averages (Table 1), except for the other-metallic coated.

07.10.23 Exports TABLE 1

May exports of galvanized sheet, cut-to-length plate, hot-rolled sheet, and cold-rolled sheet were at their highest monthly levels recorded in some time (Fig. 3).

07.10.23 Exports Fig 3

Looking at the 12MMA of individual flat-rolled products shows galvanized, cut plate, and cold rolled exports recovering to near pre-pandemic levels (Fig 4.).

07.10.23 Exports Fig 4

We have an interactive graphing tool available on our website where readers can further investigate historical export data in total and by product.

By Laura Miller, laura@steelmarketupdate.com

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. Since 2007, she has held various editorial and marketing positions with steel industry publications, associations, and mills. In 2021, after a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel trade journalism, joining SMU in 2022. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.