Apparent steel supply tumbled to a multi-year low in November

The amount of finished steel that entered the US market in November slipped to a near five-year low, according to SMU’s analysis of recently released Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data. Dubbed apparent steel supply, this metric is calculated by combining domestic mill shipments with finished US steel imports, then subtracting total US exports.

November supply declined 9%, or 772,000 short tons (st), from October to 7.61 million st, the lowest measure recorded since February 2021. This reduction was primarily driven by a steep decline in domestic mill shipments, coupled with a slowdown in finished imports.

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a digital operations analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.