Economy

Canadian Service Centers Reduce Inventories

Written by Brett Linton

October 16, 2013

Canadian shipments for all steel products in the month of September were 474,900 net tons, a decrease of 0.8 percent from the month before but an increase of 1.1 percent from September 2012. Inventories at the end of the month stood at 1,297,700 tons, a decrease of 6.6 percent from last month and a decrease of 20.4 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for September was 19,154 tons (20 day month), down slightly from 19,285 tons the month before (21 day month). September receipts were 21,100 tons lower than August totals. According to the MSCI, total months on hand stood at 2.7 months on both an unadjusted and seasonally-adjusted basis.

Flat Rolled

Canadian shipments of flat rolled products for the month of September were 237,500 tons, a decrease of 4.0 percent from the month before but an increase of 2.6 percent from September 2012. Inventories at the end of the month were 690,200 tons, a decrease of 8.8 percent from last month and a decrease of 22.0 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily receipt rate for September was 8,543 tons, down from 8,803 tons the month before. Total tons received were 170,500, down from 184,500 the month before. Flat rolled inventories stood at 2.9 months on both an unadjusted and seasonally-adjusted basis.

Plate

Canadian shipments for plate products in the month of September were 91,200 tons, an increase of 4.2 percent from the month before but a decrease of 5.3 percent from September 2012. Inventories at the end of the month were 237,700 tons, a decrease of 6.7 percent from last month and a decrease of 27.6 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for September was 3,732 tons, up slightly from 3,725 tons the month before. Plate inventories stood at 2.6 months on both an unadjusted and seasonally-adjusted basis.

Pipe and Tube

Canadian shipments for pipe and tube products in the month of September were 53,000 tons, an increase of 2.5 percent from the month and were exactly the same as the levels in September 2012. Inventories at the end of the month were 124,700 tons, a decrease of 2.8 percent from last month and a decrease of 9.4 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for September was 2,423 tons, up from 2,403 tons the month before. Pipe and tube inventories stood at 2.4 months unadjusted or 2.3 months on a SA basis.

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior 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.

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